


Lazaretto

by LOTSlover



Series: Lazaretto Series [1]
Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Mystery, Romance, Suspense, Threats, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-04-24 12:09:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 151,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4919029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LOTSlover/pseuds/LOTSlover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being exposed to an experimental bioterrorism agent during a mission, Batman and Wonder Woman are forced into isolation together on the Watchtower, but will they be able to find an antidote before it’s too late?  Pre-BMWW.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

**_Nubian Desert, June 16th, 22:37 EET_ **

A sudden gust of wind invaded the scorched desert of Sudan, creating tiny cyclones of the sand that swirled and danced about them. Even though the sun had set hours go, there was still heat rising up from the ground despite the coolness of the air that surrounded them. 

The desert was very still, almost eerily so; the only sound that of some vultures in the distance feeding on something as the trio waited in tense silence. Some, however, were waiting far more patiently than others at that moment.

“How much longer?” Flash whined.

“As long as it takes,” Batman hissed something low and threatening. “We need to wait until Wonder Woman is back from her recon before we can go in.”

“Man, I have got to go,” Flash grumbled under his breath, dancing from one foot to the other like a restless child.

“You should have gone before we left the Watchtower,” Batman rasped, casting a dark glower back over his shoulder at the speedster though he knew he could barely see it in the dark.

“I did go before we left, but we’ve been here for two hours already,” Flash argued.

Green Lantern snorted in amusement as he stood next to Flash, his arms folded across his muscular chest. “Run back to the Javelin and take care of it. Just make it quick. As soon as Diana gets back, we’re moving in with or without you.”

“Great!” Wally exclaimed in relief. “I’ll be back in two seconds.”

“You better be or I will personally remove your—” Batman began to threaten only to be interrupted by Lantern.

“Don’t bother,” John interjected. “He’s long gone.”

Batman growled low in his throat, his lips twisting into a sneer as he held up his binoculars once more to study the large structure spreading out before him almost a mile away. He had gotten some solid information that something illegal was going on in this compound in the Nubian Desert in Sudan, possibly terrorist in nature. He wanted to gather more information before they ended up encountering more than they had bargained for.

“You sure about this information you received?” John asked from his position directly behind him.

“It’s solid,” Batman flatly stated without further explanation as he continued to survey the compound.

“It had better be,” John muttered with a sigh. “If we go in there and find nothing but a bakery, this is going to have international incident written all over it.”

“Trust me,” Batman said as he put his binoculars away, turning to face Green Lantern. “They aren’t making pastries in there.”

“Alright,” John sighed with a nod of his head. “I’m all in.”

“Whew!” Flash exclaimed as he came to a sudden stop beside John. “You guys forgot to remind me we parked the Javelin like twenty miles from here.”

“That distance shouldn’t have been a problem for you,” Lantern pointed out with a frown.

“It is when your bladder is about it explode,” Flash groused.

Batman’s scowl darkened even further as he glared at Flash in abject disapproval, his gaze never once leaving the speedster’s face. “You might want to remove the piece of toilet paper from the bottom of your boot before we enter the compound.”

Flash quickly looked down to find a string of toilet paper stuck to the bottom of his boot, Green Lantern shaking his head in utter amazement. “Clean yourself up before someone sees you,” John reprimanded him. “We can’t take you out anywhere in public.”

Flash lifted his boot, pulling the offending paper free and wadding it up into a ball. He looked first at Green Lantern then at Batman whose sneer only managed to grow more terrifying if that was even a possibility. “Don’t even think about it,” Batman threatened with a deadly grating voice as he turned his back to him.

“But I don’t have any pockets,” Flash complained. “What am I supposed to do with it?”

“I’ll tell you where you can stick it,” Green Lantern told him with a frown.

Batman turned his head slightly as if picking up on something. “Diana’s back.”

As if on cue, Wonder Woman landed on the sandy ground with her three teammates a couple of moments later as Flash turned to Lantern in complete shock. “How does he do that?”

“Creepy, isn’t it?” John snorted in agreement.

Batman immediately noticed the grim expression veiling Diana’s face. “What is it?”

“It’s very odd,” she replied with a disconcerted shake of her head, her hands coming to rest on her hips. “There are no signs of any guards and it doesn’t appear to be armed with any weapons or high-tech security that I could see. Either this place isn’t what you were told it was or someone went to great lengths to make it look unassuming.”

“It’s the latter,” Batman swore. “My information is sound. There is something definitely terroristic in nature going on behind those walls.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Flash asked, rubbing his hands together after stuffing the toilet paper into his boot. “Let’s bust some heads together.”

“Diana and I will go in from the south while you two enter from the north,” Batman instructed them. 

Flash leaned over towards Lantern, placing the side of his hand at the corner of his mouth as he whispered to John. “And who here is surprised that neither of us are partnered with the princess?”

John just rolled his eyes, predicting the same thing but not stupid enough to say it out loud. Everyone knew about the growing attraction between Batman and Wonder Woman except for the Dark Knight himself who was either too callous to notice it or was choosing to ignore it completely. John knew Bruce was just trying to ignore it, but it was rapidly becoming next to impossible even for the Dark Knight to disregard.

Even though he had heard every word Flash had said, Batman continued on, refusing to acknowledge him. “Gather as much information as you can and be careful. Whatever is being manufactured here is deadly.”

Flash abruptly stood ramrod straight, giving Batman his best military salute before relaxing and turning his attention to his partner in crime. “Last one to the compound is a rotten egg.”

“Hey, this isn’t a race,” John growled as he took off after the speedster leaving Diana and Batman all alone in the darkness of night.

Batman could sense something was still bothering Diana, her expression as well as her posture tense with apprehension. “What is it, Princess?”

She slowly shook her head, her brow furrowed in thought as she struggled to find the right words to explain. “I’m not sure,” she murmured. “I just have a bad feeling about this for some reason.”

“Don’t worry, Diana,” he attempted to reassure her as they began to head towards the south entrance though he felt little confidence in his own words at that moment. “We’ll be in and out of there in no time. You’ll be back on the Watchtower and getting ready for bed before you know it.”

“You still have to patrol Gotham tonight, don’t you?”

“Robin and Nightwing are there now,” he revealed, casting a glance at her. “I’ll join them as soon as I’m done here. I have information that Poison Ivy is planning something big. I need to follow up on some more leads.”

“You could have stayed in Gotham,” she replied. “We could have handled this ourselves.”

“No,” he responded sharply and a little too quickly. It caused her to look over at him in confusion. He could feel the question in her gaze. “If this is as huge as I think it is, I need to be here with you.”

Diana noticed the way he had said “you” instead of “the team”, but didn’t press it. She already knew his absolute refusal to pursue any sort of relationship with her beyond friendship despite the fact that they continued to skirt around the sexual attraction that sparked like fireworks every time they were together.

She also knew that he kept very close tabs on her whenever she went out no matter what kind of mission it was. It irked her to no end that Bruce always felt the needed to keep track of everything she did as if she was some child who couldn’t take care of herself. He didn’t track Kal’s every movement or stick close to him during missions. 

It wasn’t until J’onn had informed her that it wasn’t her ability to take care of herself that was in question, but Batman’s fear for her safety. It was at that moment that she had begun to appreciate the fact that Bruce did seem to care about her in his own way even though he refused to give voice to it or act on those feelings that he chose to keep locked away.

“So where did you get your intel on this facility?” she asked.

Batman gave her an almost sheepish look that was more than obvious despite the fact that half of his face was covered by his cowl. “Question.”

Diana nearly tripped over her own red boots with his unexpected response, her eyes widening in shock. “Bruce! Really?” she softly scolded him.

He kept his gaze focused straight ahead, but could feel her incredulous stare practically burning a hole straight through the side of his head. “I know what you’re thinking, Princess, and I was skeptical at first too until I did some digging myself. I found evidence of suspicious shipments being sent from all over the world to a phony company in Cairo before being transported here to this site.”

Diana thought for a long moment before responding. “It does sound rather strange. Do you have any ideas about what they’re developing here?”

“None,” he admitted with a disgruntled sigh, “but like you I have a gut feeling this could turn out to be one of our worst nightmares yet. That’s why we need to gather as much information as possible and get out of there.”

Diana only nodded in response as she considered his words, knowing they needed to maintain silence as they drew closer to the compound. She couldn’t suppress the icy chill of dread that caused her to internally shudder despite herself. There were times when she actually thought that she had seen just about the worst that Man’s World could possibly offer. It was usually at those moments when she was proven very wrong and she had a feeling tonight wasn’t going to be any different.

Batman could feel the tension rising in her, but he knew that she would handle this mission and whatever they were about to find with the utmost proficiency and intelligence. It was one of the main reasons that he had chosen her to come on the mission with him.

He knew the tension she carried was deeply rooted in anger with the levels of depravity man could sink to, but instead of allowing it to make her bitter and cynical like him, she managed to use it to her advantage. Like him, however, she used it to sharpen her focus on her mission, to drive her to fight that much harder. He admired her greatly for that.

They carefully approached the compound, keeping to the shadows in an effort to conceal their presence even though Batman wasn’t so foolish to think someone in there wasn’t already aware of their presence here. Whoever was behind this would no doubt have fully equipped it with the best security system in the world even though Diana hadn’t spotted any during her recon.

He caught a glimpse of Diana silently signaling him as he automatically reached for his grappling gun, pointing up at the high wall that kept them from going any farther. He nodded his head in agreement, lifting his arms out away from his body.

Her lips curved up as she reached under his arms and effortlessly lifted him up into the air and over the wall. She gently set him down on the ground on the other side, reluctantly releasing him. Diana immediately began to make her way towards one of the exits, coincidentally the one that Batman would have chosen.

It was also one of the reasons that he had chosen Diana for this mission—their ability to work so well together. They instinctively seemed to know what the other was thinking; working so cohesively that it was almost scary at times. It was as if their bodies were in tune to each other’s their movements like a perfectly choreographed dance in battle.

Diana reached out to test the door, not surprised to find it locked. She flexed her fingers almost imperceptibly, the steel handle instantly crumbling to dust in her hand. That was the other reason that he had brought her along. She was far quieter than being forced to use a Batbomb.

She pushed the door open, her other hand swiftly coming up to rest against Batman’s Kevlar chest as she poked her head inside to make sure it was all clear before allowing him to enter with her. The corner of Batman’s mouth twitched in amusement as he followed her inside.

Had she so quickly forgotten what city he came from? Even though this was a very dangerous mission, this was a walk in the park compared to a regular Tuesday night in Gotham.

Allowing her to take the lead, Batman kept a close eye on her as he promptly assessed the area. While it was somewhat disturbing that they hadn’t run into any guards yet, he knew it was only a matter of time before someone came to see who had infiltrated their facility.

His intense gaze roamed over the smooth, steel walls, noticing that the compound appeared to be newly constructed most likely within the last year or so at most. He didn’t spot any security cameras, but they stayed close to the walls of the dimly lit corridor just in case.

They made their way further down the long winding corridor, keeping a careful eye out for any trouble. The lack of guards was disconcerting, causing the fine hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. Something was very wrong here.

Batman momentarily considered abandoning the mission, turning back before someone got hurt, but he knew that they needed to keep going. This was going to be their best and only chance at getting to the bottom of what was going on here. Whoever was behind this had to know that they were here now. If they left, the operation would no doubt be shut down and moved to some other desolate location. They’d be back to square one again.

Diana stopped as she approached a cross hallway, her hands coming to rest on her hips as she tried to decide which way to go. She turned to look at Batman, tilting her head to the left. He silently shook his head “no”, pointing to the right.

She smiled in acknowledgment before going in the indicated direction only to have Batman abruptly grab her arm, pulling her back around the corner she’d just turned down. Diana suddenly found herself pinned up against the wall by Batman, his cowled face temptingly close to hers. His breath was warm as it pulsated against her cheekbone, his gaze practically scorching her as she tried to figure out what he was doing.

The way his hard body was pressed so protectively against hers caused her to flush warmly, an unexpected flutter erupting in her stomach. Before she could ask what he thought he was doing, Batman placed his forefinger on her lips to silence her as if anticipating her question. His body was warm against hers despite his uniform, his black cape surrounding them both like a cloak, further concealing their presence.

The steady sound of clicking swiftly grew louder…faster, until a violent volley of bullets fired down the hallway Diana had just started to turn down. The rapid fire of ammunition was nearly deafening, inflaming Diana’s anger even more. If Bruce hadn’t picked up on it, they both would’ve been ripped to shreds by those bullets.

Bruce stayed frozen with Diana trapped between his body and the wall, his heart hammering wildly in that tense moment. Part of it had to do with the fact that Diana had very nearly been gunned down, but he knew that wasn’t the whole reason.

He could feel Diana’s heart racing despite his Kevlar uniform, the fullness of her breasts despite her breastplate. He silently cursed himself for allowing these sensual thoughts to even form in his mind. They were on a very risky mission, one that required his full attention. He couldn’t allow there to be any distractions here. 

She was becoming the greatest distraction he’d ever faced in his life, but he refused to give any credence to what he felt for her. If he did, it would only make it that much more real, that much more tangible than it already was and he couldn’t afford that. Her friendship was all that he could have in his life. Nothing more.

As silence finally blanketed the area again, Batman waited, refusing to move. He told himself it was only to make sure that it was safe before proceeding. His cowled gaze fell to her lips once more, his desire for her simmering right there on the surface and begging to be set free, but he forced himself to remember that he had locked away that part of himself that craved to love and be loved. There wasn’t room for anything more despite what his heart and body wanted.

“I think it’s safe now,” Diana whispered, fearing he could sense how much his proximity was affecting her. The man seemed to be able to read her like a book.

“I know,” he softly hissed as he quickly backed away from her, releasing his hold on her. “I just wanted to make sure there weren’t any more traps. You’re welcome by the way.”

Diana ignored his abrasive manner, knowing it was just Batman being Batman. “Thank you for saving my life,” she sweetly said, batting her eyelashes at him. “Maybe I should give my hero a kiss when we get out of here.”

Batman snorted as he moved past her to proceed down the next corridor. “You have to catch me first, Princess.”

Diana followed him with a smirk on her lips. Getting under his cowl was the highlight of her week. “Oh, I’m very tenacious when it comes to getting what I want.”

“Don’t I know it,” he groused, cursing under his breath about damn stubborn Amazon princesses and gray hair.

Diana chuckled softly, shaking her head in amusement as she followed him down the next hallway. She wasn’t certain what she had to do with him getting gray hair, but now wasn’t the time to ask about it. She’d have to ask Shayera about what it meant later. 

“How did you know that was going to happen?” she whispered.

“First, you don’t need to whisper anymore,” he told her. “I’m fairly certain they already know we’re here now. Second, I noticed you tripped a silent alarm when you started to turn down that corner.”

“Well, I’m glad that you did,” she replied, sincerity lacing her voice. “You saved my life again. I owe you one.”

“You owe me more than one, Princess,” he rasped darkly.

“Are you keeping track?” she asked with a pleased grin, refusing to give up on trying to break through that seemingly impenetrable wall of his.

Batman silently swore to himself. He was digging himself a hole and needed to get out of it quick. “No, you just somehow manage to always get yourself into a lot of trouble that I have to bail you out of.”

“Well then, I guess I better start paying you back,” she responded as she fell into step beside him. “I think I know exactly where I can start.”

Her sultry tone had its desired affect causing him to nearly stumble with the next step he took. It wasn’t overtly obvious, but enough that he knew Diana had noticed it. He too could think of countless ways that she could repay him, but he never needed compensation from her. Just knowing that she was alive and safe was more than enough for him.

Knowing she wasn’t going to get a response out of him with her flirty comment, she decided to let him off the hook by changing the subject. “I wonder how Flash and Lantern are doing.”

“Hopefully, better than us,” he muttered with a frown as he paused before a door.

**_Compound, North Entrance, 23:26 EET_ **

“Watch out!” Lantern growled, using his ring to create a large shield in order to block another hail of bullets.

“This place is a freaking death trap!” Flash yelled in frustration as he ducked and rolled away a split second before losing his head. “I’ve had enough of this!”

“Flash, no!” Lantern hollered, but it was too late. 

The speedster was off and running, nothing but a red streak letting his friend know where he had just been a split second ago. One by one the automatic weapons that had lowered from the ceiling with the pair’s appearance were taken out, silence filling the air once more.

Flash came to a stop beside Lantern again, a grim expression on his face. “I don’t like this mission one bit.”

“Come on, we’ve got work to do,” John muttered as he started walking down the corridor. “Batman was right. There’s definitely something strange going on here.”

“Yah, we’ve not seen one guard yet,” Flash remarked as he followed Green Lantern. “That’s just insane. We should’ve taken out dozens by now if this place is manufacturing weapons.”

“We don’t know for sure what they’re making here,” Lantern reminded him. “We can’t make any assumptions until we know for sure.”

“Do you think Bats knows more about what’s going on here than he’s letting on?”

“I think Bats always knows more about what’s going on than he lets on, but, in this case, I think he’s in the dark as much as we are,” John decided.

Flash’s lips tightened into a thin line before the corner quirked into a crooked smile. “Do you think he’s in the dark about Wondy?”

John snorted in response, turning down another passageway. “No way,” he adamantly replied. “He knows exactly what’s going on between them. He just doesn’t want to admit it or deal with it.”

“Do you think he ever will?” Flash asked as he tried opening a door to find it locked.

“He better soon,” John stated, annoyed. “I’ve got a hundred bucks riding on it happening by the Fourth of July.”

Flash chuckled as he checked another room only to find it empty. “Shay is going to kill you if she finds out you lost a hundred bucks gambling on Wondy and Bat’s love life.”

“That’s why she won’t find out,” John threatened him, casting a dark glare at his friend.

“Speaking of Shay,” Flash continued without missing a beat. “When are you two going to get hitched?”

John paused to stare at him, bewilderment etched on his face. “We aren’t even engaged yet and you’re wondering when we’re getting married? We just got back together less than a month ago.”

Flash shrugged a shoulder as they entered a large room filled with high-tech equipment. “So, it’s not like you two weren’t knockin’ boots before she turned on us.”

John growled at him, his anger rising as he clenched his fists. “Shayera didn’t turn on us and you know it. She ended up helping us save the world in the end.”

Flash threw his hands up in front of him in defense. “Hey, man, I’m on your side,” he claimed. “I’m just saying that I think it’s time you put a ring on her finger.”

John scowled at him as he sat down before a massive computer system. “You need some serious help, you know that?”

“I’ve been told,” Flash responded with a cocky grin as he made his way to a stack of metal containers. “I’m hoping this girl I just asked out will be the one to set me straight.”

“What’s the name of this bimbo of the week?”

“It’s Linda Park and she’s not a bimbo,” Flash maintained. “She’s a hot reporter in Central City. We’ve got a date Friday night. Hey, what do you think could be in these containers?”

“Do I have a large red “S” on my chest?” John grumbled as he attempted to hack into the computer system. “I don’t have x-ray vision. Open it and find out for yourself.”

Flash frowned as he stared at the steel container in front of him, scratching his head as he tried to figure out a way inside of it. “Hey, GL!” he finally called to him. “Can you make me a huge crowbar?”

“How about you come help me hack into this computer instead?”

Flash was standing behind his chair before John could draw his next breath, his head leaning over the Lantern’s right shoulder to study the computer screen. “I’m not a computer geek,” he reminded him. “I wouldn’t have the first clue how to break into the system.”

“Yah, but you have to try to help me come up with some way of getting into this thing. There has to be a logical password we can try.”

“How about ‘terrorists suck’,” Flash said with a grin.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not it,” John shot back. “We need to hurry up and get the information that Bats wants before we’re mowed down by more bullets.”

Neither heard a side door sliding open or noticed the four men dressed in black from head to toe and wearing ninja masks enter the room with semi-automatic rifles pointed directly at them. The leader silently motioned for the other three to circle around to surround them before moving in on their prey.

Flash looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of something moving in the dimly lit room. He casually leaned his forearm on the back of Lantern’s chair, his focus on the computer screen. “I believe we finally have company,” he whispered to Green Lantern.

John immediately ignited his ring to create a green bubble around the two of them just as shots rang out. The green shield easily deflected the attack, keeping them both safe, but no closer to getting the information they needed.

“I’ve had just about enough of being shot at,” John growled as he stood to his feet, careful to keep them safely enclosed in his shield.

“Let me handle this,” Flash offered. “I need the practice.”

“Just don’t get shot,” John told him. “I’m not too keen on the idea of hauling your hide outta here and I don’t want you bleeding all over the Javelin. I just cleaned it the other day.”

“They won’t even be able to catch me,” Flash reassured him before bolting from the glowing green bubble.

A red blur streaked around the room amidst the rapid fire of semi-automatics, a fist flying at the same time the men were disarmed. John lowered his shield to help, but found it unnecessary as Flash suddenly handed him four rifles.

“You’re bleeding,” John pointed out as he set the rifles down on the desk.

Flash lifted his left arm to look at his uniform to find a small tear at the elbow, blood trickling from a minor flesh wound. “That’s nothing,” he reassured him. “A bullet just grazed me. Let’s see if we can get some information out of one of these goons.”

Lantern made his way to one of the men lying on the ground, Flash following closely behind. Crouching down, John picked up the man by the scruff of the neck, pulling the black ninja mask off his head. “Doesn’t look like any of our regulars,” he muttered.

The man groaned as he began to come to, his eyes darkening as realization sunk in. He immediately sneered at them, gritting his teeth and swearing. “Definitely a friendly fellow, isn’t he?” Flash commented, leaning forward with his hands on his thighs as he stared down at him . “Maybe he needs to be taught some manners.”

“What are you doing here?” John demanded to know, tightening his hold on the back of the man’s shirt as he hauled him up onto his feet.

The man tried to take a swing at John, his glower full of pure hate. “I will tell you nothing, you swine.”

“Now is that the proper way to greet your guests?” Flash asked him, folding his arms across his chest.

“You are not our guests,” the man spat out. “You are trespassing on private property. You will answer for your crime.”

“Us?” Flash gasped in shock, his hand coming to rest against his chest in mock surprise. “You tried to kill us. I think that more than makes us even.”

“What are you manufacturing here,” John questioned him.

The man laughed mockingly. “If you think I am going to tell you anything, you are crazy.”

“Hey, where did you hear that rumor?” Flash demanded to know. “Is Captain Cold running his mouth about me again? I think I need to pay him a visit.”

“Flash—focus,” John snarled, momentarily turning his attention away from the man to his teammate. “Let’s just get what we came for and get out of here.”

Turning back to the man in his hand, John caught him putting something in his mouth. “What is that? What did you just do?”

The man only smiled smugly at them before he began foaming at the mouth, his eyes rolling back in his head. John immediately laid him down, starting CPR, but it was no use. The man was dead within seconds.

“Damn,” John swore under his breath, his hands on his hips as he stared down at the man lying dead at his feet.

“So did not see that coming,” Flash softly said in stunned disbelief.

“Come on,” John stated. “Let’s get these other three rounded up before—” 

Green Lantern was interrupted by the sound of a massive explosion, one that caused the entire area to shudder in response to the unexpected blast. Equipment all around the room shook, computer screens falling off desks and crashing to the ground.

“What the hell was that?” Flash murmured as he quickly looked around.

“Green Lantern to Batman,” John immediately called their teammates. “Wonder Woman, come in! Batman, are you there?”

Receiving no response from either of their teammates, Lantern grabbed Flash by the arms before taking to the air. “Hey, I can get to them faster if you let me run,” Wally groused.

“Yah, but we don’t know just what you’ll be running in to,” John ominously stated as they took off in the direction of the explosion.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**_Compound, South Entrance, July 15th, 23:45 EET_ **

Batman paused before a door on his right, testing the handle and somewhat startled to find it unlocked. He carefully opened it, fearing more hidden traps awaiting them but finding none. Peering inside, he discovered the room was filled with ordinary brown cardboard boxes; six neatly stacked one on top of the other with ten stacks in all.

He made his way towards one of the stacks, checking the outside of the box for any clues as to where they had been shipped from, but found nothing. There were no markings, shipping labels or company logos indicating where they had originated from or what could be inside of them.

He reached into his utility belt to pull out a batarang, using the sharp pointed edge of the bat-shaped weapon to slice through the thick packing tape of one of the boxes. Pulling it open, he was stunned to find it filled with dozens of gas masks. 

“Diana, I found something,” he said as he closed up the box and moved on to the stack of boxes along the opposite wall.

Taking down the top box, he placed it on the floor, running his hands along the outside to check for clues. Finding nothing again, he swiftly sliced it open, glancing around to find himself all alone in the storage room.

“Princess?” he called, wondering where she had gone to.

He had thought that she had followed him into the room, but she was nowhere to be found. He didn’t like not knowing where she was especially in a place like this that was filled with hidden traps. He quickly searched the box to find black clothing in a material that he’d never seen before. It was thick yet lightweight, pliable yet appeared to be made of some sort of impenetrable material similar to his Kevlar. He took one of the shirts, tucking it into an empty compartment in his utility belt before going to find Diana.

Exiting the room, Batman found the corridor empty, no sign of her anywhere. “Diana!” he called.

A few seconds passed before he received a response that finally allowed him to breath. “In here,” she called back.

His shoulders sagged slightly in relief as he went in the direction he had heard her voice coming from. He turned down the next corridor; one that led him into an extensive laboratory that contained the best equipment money could buy as well as one Meta Amazon.

“We need to stay together, Princess.” His tone was sharp and rebuking, conveying his displeasure with her sudden disappearance.

Diana looked up from the far end of the laboratory, a very haughty, princess-like expression gracing her face as she regarded him. “I’m not some feeble woman you need to babysit,” she countered with an edge of her own to her voice. “I am an Amazon warrior and perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I did just fine long before I met you.”

“If it weren’t for me, you’d have been dead back there in that hallway, Your Highness,” he spat out, the words burning like acid.

“I’ll get down on my knees and kiss your boots the next chance I get,” she angrily snapped. She was growing more than irritated with his little reminders about saving her life, wondering what had gotten under his cowl to infuriate him this time. Hera only knew.

“While you’re on your knees, be sure to polish my boots for me,” he icily stated with a sneer, immediately regretting his words the second they passed his lips. She always managed to get under his skin, setting him on edge and keeping him on his toes. He didn’t like it.

“I’ll tell you where you can put your boots, Batman,” she retorted, a very unladylike string of Greek curses following that painted him a very unpleasant light.

Batman growled low in his chest, his jaw filled with tension as he bit back a biting retort of his own. She was far too blasé when it came to her own personal safety. She couldn’t always rely on her Meta strength and durability, her ability to heal faster than the average mortal. She was not indestructible.

Walking over to one of the instruments, Bruce began to study it, noticing that it was a highly advanced microscope, one that he’d had his eye on for some time since the first drafts of its design had been released over a year ago. It wasn’t due to be made available to the public for another six months. How they had a dozen of them in here was beyond staggering. Even with the pull he had, he was only managing to get one a couple of months ahead of the release date.

He glanced at Diana who was still on the other side of the expansive lab, completely absorbed in a binder of some sort. She had an annoyed expression gracing her face, her forehead creased in concentration. He wasn’t sure if she was angry with him or upset about what she’d discovered. More than likely, it was still because of him. He didn’t care, though. He’d much rather have her furious with him than dead. 

Batman finally spoke, breaking the heated tension that filled the room because of his stupidity. “Did you find anything significant?” he asked, his tone somewhat softer.

“Maybe,” she murmured as she studied the binder that she had discovered lying open on the counter. “They’re definitely manufacturing something dangerous here and I don’t think its military weapons.”

“Let’s just try to gather as much information as we can and get out of here,” Batman stated as he moved to stand before a computer. “I have a feeling we’ll be getting unwanted company here at any moment.”

Diana’s frown deepened as she flipped through the binder that she had discovered. It contained chemical equations and research notes that made little sense to her. She’d have to have Bruce take a look at it later or maybe even Atom. 

Closing the binder and setting it aside to show it to Bruce, she moved to the table next to it where several test tubes were lined up, some unknown substance in a couple of them. Beakers filled with solutions fizzled and smoked, emitting a white vapor that disappeared as soon as it passed the lip of the glass.

Someone had obviously been in here working very recently, likely clearing out of here as soon as the Justice League had entered the compound to avoid being captured. Turning her back to Batman, Diana opened a cabinet, her eyes widening in shock at what she had just discovered. Her heart nearly stopped beating altogether at the sight of the red flashing numbers glaring back at her as they rapidly counted down.

A Greek curse instantly filled the air, catching Batman’s attention. He immediately moved out from behind the computer desk that he was working on across the lab, his jaw clenching tightly like his fists were in that moment. “What is it?”

Diana whirled around to face him, feeling as though she was trying to move through mud. Everything seemed to progress too fast and yet not nearly fast enough. She knew there was no way to remove it, no way to get him out of here in time. In that split-second, she had a decision to make.

A whole myriad of emotions flashed through her eyes in that instant when their gazes locked on one another, silently telling him things that she had wanted to tell him but had suddenly run out of time. She knew she only had one option now.

“There’s a bomb!" she yelled at him.

Before Bruce could even react, Diana was flying straight at him like a deadly missile, her blue eyes practically glowing with utter rage. In that second, all he could do was brace himself for impact as she crashed directly into him. She wrapped her arms around him, slamming him to the floor and knocking the wind from his lungs with the full-force of her attempt to save him. 

She curled her body around him as Bruce started to struggle against her hold on him, the room exploding into a ball of fire. Bruce’s last thought was of Diana as well as the sharp pain that lanced through his left shoulder and side just before everything went black.

**_Nubian Desert Compound, 00:01 EET_**

Green Lantern flew through the facility as fast as he could in the direction of the explosion, keeping Flash enveloped in a protective green bubble with him. He had no idea what they were flying into, but he knew it wasn’t good. He had a bad feeling there was more going on here than just military grade weapons, something that was beyond imagination.

His heart was racing as he tried to reach his teammates through his commlink again without success, silently praying that they were still alive, though he didn’t know how with the extent of the explosion they had just heard. He could tell it was all that Flash could do not to break free from his ring’s protective shield to get to their teammates, but they needed to be careful.

They smelled the smoke and the stench of chemicals before they saw the actual flames, forcing Lantern to strengthen the intensity of the force field that he had created around the two of them. He heard Flash mutter something under his breath, but paid little attention to it. He was too shocked by what they found themselves flying into.

There was rubble and debris everywhere, a massive hole where a room had once been. A strange blue-green smoke filled the air causing John’s panic to rise. He landed on the outskirts of what had presumably once been a laboratory, his gaze immediately scanning the area for any signs of their teammates.

“We gotta find Bats and Wondy,” Flash stated, growing more frantic by the moment.

“First, we have to contain that gas,” Lantern informed him. “We don’t know what it is or how it’ll affect people. We can’t let it escape the compound.”

“Well, there’s not much left of this part of the compound,” Flash pointed out. “I’ll create a wind tunnel and funnel it towards you to contain it. Then, we can look for Bats and Wondy.”

“Fine, but don’t allow it to come into contact with you or breath it in,” John reluctantly agreed, realizing that they had no other choice at that moment.

Lantern released the protective green shield that he had erected around them, his gaze already worriedly searching the debris for their friends. Flash immediately went to work, spinning his arms rapidly and creating a swirling vortex that swiftly cleared the air of the blue-green substance floating like a thick nebulas.

Green Lantern directed his powerful ring at the cloud, trapping it inside a glowing green bubble. “Look for Batman and Diana and get them into quarantine in the infirmary on the ‘Tower right away. Be careful; there could be more bombs hiding around here. I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”

“What are you going to do with it?” Flash asked.

“Deposit it in outer space where it can’t hurt anyone,” Lantern said as he began to lift up into the air, taking the strange substance with him. “I’ll contact J’onn and tell him what happened. Just get them outta there as fast as you can.”

Flash nodded at his friend before racing in and around the mounds of debris, his desperation skyrocketing. There were piles of rubble and shooting flames everywhere, pieces of twisted steel and metal, mangled equipment and shattered glass. Finding them was going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but he wasn’t about to give up on them.

Flash came to a stop, pausing long enough to regain some semblance of control over his emotions, wiping the sweat from his face. He knew it wasn’t doing Batman and Wonder Woman any good to panic. Turning to his right, he spotted the heel of a red boot sticking out beneath an enormous pile of rubble.

“Wondy!” he cried.

Diana was pinned beneath large chunks of concrete, Batman lying unconscious on the ground beneath what was left of a table a few feet past her. He fell to his knees at Batman’s side, checking his pulse and more than relieved to find that he was still alive. He had some minor cuts and scrapes on his chin and jaw, but appeared to be unharmed for the most part.

He glanced back at Diana lying on the ground a few feet away. She didn’t appear to be fairing as well partially trapped beneath the rubble. Blood seeped from a gash on her head, her face ghostly pale. It made Wally’s stomach drop into his boots as he ran to her side, struggling to lift the concrete off her with no success.

“Flash to Watchtower,” he yelled into his commlink.

“This is Steel. What can I do for you, Flash?”

“I need immediate transport for Batman and Wonder Woman to isolation in the infirmary,” Flash ordered. “Lock on their signals and transport now.”

“Got it,” Steel stated. “Locking on now and transporting in five. Do you need a lift?”

“No, I have to get the Javelin back to the ‘Tower,” Flash informed him. “I’ll be there shortly. Flash out.”

Flash slowly stood to his feet, watching with a heavy heart as his two friends shimmered before disappearing from sight. What was supposed to be an information gathering mission had gone very wrong, ending with two of his teammates severely injured.

Looking down, he spotted a USB drive lying on the ground near his boot. He quickly scooped it up before racing back towards the Javelin, hoping it contained some sort of information that could help them figure out what was going on here.

**_Watchtower Isolation, June 17th, 12:16 EST_ **

Bruce began to come around, the steady sound of beeping monitors filling his ears. As awareness increased, so did the pain. A lot. He felt as though he’d been struck full force by a tank, not one part of his body unaffected by the hit. He couldn’t figure out what had happened to him until he abruptly remembered that he had been hit alright—hit by a powerful Amazon.

The last thing he remembered was Diana yelling that there was a bomb, the wild look of fear and rage that had been burning in her eyes as she had flown straight at him like a rocket. She had hit him hard, wrapping her entire body around him as she had shoved him to the ground.

He had struggled to break free from her hold on him in order to try to protect her from the blast, but she had been far too strong, the explosion too quick to stop it all from happening. What felt like an eternity had all happened in a matter of seconds of her finding the explosive device. 

Diana had sacrificed herself in order to save him.

“Diana!” he gasped her name, his eyes flying open with the sheer panic that seized him as he lurched forward, immediately regretting the action as pain tore through his side like a knife.

The soothing sound of J’onn’s voice unexpectedly filled his head, attempting to calm him and ease his fears. _“Diana is here, but you must calm yourself, my friend. You both were badly injured. You’re fortunate to even be alive.”_

Lying back with a breathless grunt of pain, Bruce instinctively looked to his right to find Diana lying unconscious in the bed next to his. His heart nearly stopped at the sight of her. Her forehead was bandaged, her right leg in a cast up to her knee. She was hooked up to wires and IV’s, a breathing mask covered her battered face.

She looked so frail, so broken that it stole his breath. It was difficult to look at her and yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. Seeing her like this made his throat tighten with fear unlike anything he’d ever felt before. _“Is…is she going to be alright?”_

 _“She sustained a severe head injury, multiple lacerations and her right leg was shattered requiring emergency surgery,”_ J’onn silently informed him. _“She took the full impact of the explosion, but she should make a full recovery with some time.”_

Bruce was silent for some time as he tried to process it all, his eyes locked on her as he struggled to come to terms with the full weight of the emotions suddenly roiling within him. _“She was protecting me.”_

 _“She did a very good job of it,”_ J’onn continued to mentally communicate with him. _“You have some broken ribs, a bad chest wall contusion, a dislocated left shoulder and a head concussion, but it could’ve been far worse if she hadn’t protected you like she did.”_

 _“She saved my life and it nearly cost her own,”_ Bruce silently replied, finding every breath he drew to be difficult.

Finally pulling his gaze away from Diana, Bruce abruptly realized that they were not only in the infirmary on the Watchtower, but in isolation as well. He and Diana were the only two people in the room at that moment, J’onn on the other side of the glass observation window working on a computer.

 _“J’onn, what happened?”_ he mentally asked him, deadly calm rising again as Bat-mode took over. _“What were we exposed to that we have to be in isolation?”_

 _“I’m afraid the bomb was laced with a bioterrorism agent that we have as of yet been unable to identify,”_ the Martian revealed.

Bruce noticed the grimness in his voice. The Martian Manhunter was always stoic even on a good day, but this was far more than was usual for him. _“Do you have any idea what it could be?”_

 _“None,”_ J’onn informed him. _“We are working on breaking down the sample that Green Lantern brought back. So far, it is proving to be a very complex process, but we have been able to rule out Anthrax and Ebola. It’s going to take quite some time before we’re able to figure out exactly what it is or the danger it still presents to you and Diana.”_

Bruce glanced again at the Amazon lying in the bed next to his again, his mind racing to process it all. _“But Diana should be immune to it, right? She should be safe from whatever we were exposed to.”_

_“I’m afraid I cannot answer that yet. We have been able to determine that it infects through direct skin contact as well as being an airborne substance. Since Diana was the one shielding you, she took the full impact of the contamination. While you still breathed it in, you were protected from skin contact by your uniform, but Diana’s uniform—”_

_“Leaves her more exposed,”_ Bruce finished for him, already determined to design a new uniform for her that would cover her from head to toe.

Anger ignited in his belly as he stared at her, each exerted breath a sharp stab in his side. Damn her for risking her life for him like that. He wasn’t worth the risk to her. Now, she could die and there wouldn’t be a damn thing that he could to do prevent it. Helpless guilt swiftly settled over him like a dark thundercloud, enveloping him.

 _“I have to get out of here and get back to Gotham so I can figure out who’s behind this,”_ Bruce silently said. _“I can’t investigate this or find an antidote from isolation on the Watchtower.”_

 _“I’m sorry, Bruce, but you know you cannot leave,”_ J’onn mentally reminded him. _“You know as well as I do that you and Diana could be highly contagious right now for all we know. As soon as I have more information, I’ll let you know. For now, though, you need to rest and conserve your strength, at least until we know more about what we’re up against.”_

 _“Were Lantern and Flash able to gather any more information about who could be behind this?”_

_“No, but Flash brought back a USB drive that he found in the lab where he found the two of you.”_

_“I need my laptop and all the information you have on the contagion so far including that USB drive,”_ Bruce instructed him. _“I also need to send a message to Nightwing and let him know what’s going on.”_

_“Batman, you need to rest right now and let us do our investigation. We have no idea how this contagion is going to affect either of you yet.”_

_“I’m not going to just lay here and let it potentially kill her,”_ Bruce snapped. _“It’s my fault that she was there in the first place, J’onn. I have to do whatever I can to save her and stop this from happening to anyone else.”_

 _“You cannot blame yourself,”_ J’onn attempted to ease his fears. _“Diana knows the risks that come with every mission she goes on and accepts them without thought. You know as well as I do that she would do it all over again even if she knew the outcome.”_

_“That’s part of her problem. She never thinks of herself or her own safety,”_ Bruce continued to vent his frustrations with the situation that they now found themselves in. _“Besides, she would never have been there if I hadn’t asked her to come with me to investigate.”_

_“If she hadn’t, you would be dead right now.”_

_“Better me than her,”_ Bruce icily stated. _“Because of me, she could still die now.”_

J’onn couldn’t help but flinch with the intensity of the emotions thrumming through his friend at that moment. Even though communicating telepathically, Batman’s full growl of anger came through loud and clear to the Martian. He knew what his anger was rooted in even though Bruce refused to acknowledge its existence. He just hoped that maybe this situation they now faced would force Bruce to finally deal with his feelings for his teammate.

 _“I’ll have your laptop sent up to you,”_ J’onn relented, knowing it was futile to argue with his most stubborn patient. It was always a fierce battle of wills when Batman was in the infirmary. Having him in isolation only intensified the situation tenfold. _“Superman already contacted Nightwing and informed him of the situation. He said for you not to worry about Gotham. He and Robin will take care of everything.”_

Bruce seemed to relax minutely with the reassurance that Gotham was in good hands even though he’d much rather be the one down there guarding it. _“Thank you, J’onn.”_

 _“We will not stop until we get to the bottom of this, Bruce,”_ J’onn reassured him.

Bruce could only nod his head in response, not wanting to dwell on the ramifications of what could happen if they couldn’t figure this out before it was too late. Apart from hurting from head to toe from being slammed to the ground by a Meta Amazon, he felt fine, no symptoms of infection yet. 

He just hoped it stayed that way, but feared that they would not be so fortunate. Whoever was behind this had gone to great lengths to hide their facility as well as the fact they were developing some sort of bioterrorism agent. They had obviously been getting close to unleashing their weapon on the world. 

And it looked like he and Diana had just become their test subjects.

**_Watchtower Infirmary, June 17th, 14:02 EST_ **

Bruce looked over from his laptop at the sound of Diana grimacing softly, thankful that she was finally beginning to wake up. Removing the oxygen tube from his nose, he set aside his laptop, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and pausing for a moment to allow the dizziness to settle as well as the pain in his left shoulder. 

He was on the verge of removing the sling that he had woken to find on his left arm to keep his shoulder immobilized, but a stern warning from Clark had convinced him to keep it on for now. He’d already gotten rid of the obligatory hospital gown, opting for a pair of sleeping pants and a t-shirt that he’d had sent up from the manor. He had spare clothes in his quarters, but he wasn’t about to have anyone rummaging through his room for any reason.

Grasping his IV pole, Bruce slowly moved to the empty chair at Diana’s bedside as she began to awaken, hissing with the intense pain the movement created. She started reaching for the oxygen mask and yanking it off before Bruce could stop her. He moved to from the chair to sit on the side of her bed in an effort to calm her and keep her from removing anything else.

“Careful, Princess,” Bruce softly said as he took the oxygen mask and placed it back over her face. Her blue eyes partially opened at the sound of his voice, confusion clouding them as she struggled to focus on his face.

“Bruce?”

“It’s alright; I’m right here,” he reassured her.

“Did I break your arm?” she asked as she pushed the oxygen mask away again, her concerned gaze falling to the sling on his arm.

Bruce frowned with her question. She was always far more worried about everyone else instead of herself. “Dislocated shoulder,” he revealed. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her fingers reaching out to lightly touch it in apology for hurting him.

“It’s a lot better than having a broken leg.”

Diana glanced down to find her right leg in a cast that stopped just below her knee. She smiled weakly at the autograph that already adorned it. Flash’s name was spelled out in big red letters; in smaller letters below it was “love you Wondy”. Her eyes returned to Bruce’s face to find a deadly scowl firmly in place, his heated glare attempting to burn the words off her cast.

“I take it we’ll both live?” she hoarsely murmured, her eyes falling closed with the effort it took to even talk at that moment. She winced as she tried to sit up, a gentle yet firm hand on her shoulder forcing her to stay down.

“Yes, and you need to stay put, Princess,” he firmly said, his voice already disclosing his displeasure with her for risking her life just to save his.

A small smile gently curled her lips, her eyes still closed as if it took too much effort to open them. “I guess you owe me now,” she teased, her voice unnaturally weak and unnerving him.

Bruce bit the inside of his cheek in an effort to keep the emotions swelling in his chest from reaching his eyes or his voice. He willingly allowed his anger to replace the raw despair that was threatening to tear him apart at that moment with seeing her like this.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Diana,” he heatedly stated, fighting the urge to take her bandaged hand in his.

Her eyes partially opened to look at him, a confused expression filling her already bruised face. “So it’s okay for you to risk your life for me, but I’m not allowed to do the same for you?”

Bruce averted his eyes, his jaw hard like finely chiseled granite. He refused to meet her penetrating gaze or the anger he knew he’d find simmering there in those dark blue depths. His silence as well as his irritated expression was more than enough of an answer for her. 

She felt her anger flaming hotly within her, her breathing growing ragged and causing one of the alarms to beep loudly in response. “You are such a…” she spat out, finishing by calling him a not so nice name in Ancient Greek.

“You could be dead right now with what you did,” he angrily hissed, trying to put her breathing mask back on her face as the alarm continued to blare loudly. “It was foolish of you to do that.”

“I’m not dead, but you definitely would have been,” she shot back, fury simmering in her blue eyes as she glared at him in a fierce battle of wills, neither about to back down. She brushed the breathing mask away again, refusing to surrender. “You act like you don’t need anyone, but even the great Dark Knight of Gotham needs someone. You’re not invincible, Bruce.”

“And neither are you, Diana,” he bit out in exasperation, his grip on the mask tightening.

“More than you are,” she snapped. “Why are you being such an ass?”

“I’m just trying to make you see that you can’t keep risking your life like that and expect to live through it. One of these days, you’re going to go out on a mission and never come back.”

“I don’t have to stay here with you and listen to your ridiculous lectures,” she declared, trying to sit up only to have Bruce push her back down again. “I can recover in my quarters without you.”

“No, you can’t,” he adamantly stated. “That bomb was laced with a bioterrorism agent so I’m afraid you’re stuck with me in isolation, Princess, until J’onn can figure out what it is and if we’re contagious.”

Diana snatched the breathing mask from his hands as she closed her eyes again; rolling onto her other side with a cry of pain that stole her breath away. “Hera, grant me patience,” she ground out through clenched teeth before putting the breath mask back on.

The countless bandages that Bruce found covering her back were like a sharp kick to his gut, one that he hadn’t expected. He fought the urge to close the top part of her hospital gown for her so he wouldn’t have to look at the extent of her injuries, knowing she had risked her life just for him. He couldn’t handle seeing her hurt or in pain like this especially because of him.

Diana fought back furious tears, feeling his weight lift off the side of her bed. “You’re welcome by the way,” she softly choked out, using his own words against him, though they were somewhat muffled by the mask.

Bruce moved to sit down on the edge of his bed, bracing his side with his hand as he watched her for several long moments. Gratitude burned the tip of his tongue, aching to be expressed, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the words to her. She had nearly gotten herself killed last night protecting him and now she was in danger of losing her life again because of him. He’d never forgive himself if she died.

He had been a complete ass last night when they had been searching the compound and he had been one again. He had hurt her just now with his words. It made him sick inside after what she had done for him, but hurting her and making her angry at him was much better than her falling in love with him. The flirtatious dance they’d been partaking in had gone on for far too long, had become too dangerous to continue any longer.

Sliding gingerly back into his bed, Bruce pulled his laptop resting on his bedside table back over to him, coming to a decision. As soon as this was over and Diana was safe, he was going to distance himself from her, resigning from the League. It was not safe for her to be near him. Last night had more than convinced him of that.

As soon as he was released from isolation, she’d never see him again.

**_Cairo, Egypt, June 17th, 22:00 EET_ **

The security video played again for the twenty third time already in the last hour. The fuming anger that permeated the room was nearly suffocating as they watched Batman and Wonder Woman infiltrate the facility from the north entrance.

Another screen showed Green Lantern and Flash entering from the south in an almost mirror image of their teammates, bypassing security and inching their way deeper inside towards their secret operation. Their advanced security measures had proven to be ineffective against the League.

They watched as Batman abruptly pulled Wonder Woman back in time to avoid being slaughtered by a hail of bullets. A softly gasped curse came from one of the occupants in the room as Batman shielded the Amazon, keeping her trapped against the wall with his body until it was safe again.

The video continued to play on, moving through Batman finding the boxes in the storage room, Green Lantern and Flash finding the nerve center of their facility. They watched as their team of four was taken out by Flash and then the moment when Wonder Woman found the bomb in the laboratory, using her body to protect Batman from the powerful blast.

The sound of a coffee cup being smashed against the wall filled the air as another voice spoke. “They discovered what we’re planning. We’ll have to move the operation now and delay the release.”

“I think things could not have turned out better,” one replied from the corner. “Who better to experiment with our weapon then on Batman and a Meta like Wonder Woman? We couldn’t have asked for better conditions. We’ll finally get to test it out on both a mortal and a Meta. I’m especially anxious to see how our new weapon affects the Amazon.”

“Batman will not just sit back and let this kill him or the Amazon. You know that he’ll do whatever it takes to stop us.”

Lips curved into a wicked smile at that moment as eyes gleamed. “I’m counting on him doing just that.”


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**_Watchtower Infirmary, June 17th, 19:30 EST_ **

Diana awoke to the feel of a needle being driven into her arm. She slowly opened her eyes to find herself still lying on her right side with her back to Bruce, J’onn standing over her dressed in a hazmat uniform drawing more blood.

J’onn gave her a small apologetic smile as he finished, placing a band-aid on her arm though it wasn’t really necessary. _“It’ll be alright, Diana,”_ he silently reassured her, sensing her despondency as he paused to gently squeeze her hand. It didn’t take a telepath to see how frustrated and angry she was with her current roommate or the situation that they now found themselves in.

She closed her eyes again, not wanting to face the fact that she was quarantined with the man that she wanted, but didn’t seem to want her, the man that she was still furious with at that moment. He was being his typical asinine self, his obstinacy driving her crazy and their forced isolation together was just beginning. How much worse would it get if this didn’t get resolved in the next couple of days?

It made her wonder why she even bothered with him anymore after three years of the same tug-o-war that they continued to play, her pulling and he pushing back and forth. He obviously wasn’t going to change his mind about them or even give them any sort of a chance at being happy together so what was the point anymore?

She needed to just forget about him, move on and find someone who would truly love her, but it was more than difficult when she was quarantined with him for Hera knew how long, his bed just a few feet away from hers. She could practically feel his gaze boring holes in her back even now, though he’d never admit to it even if she did confront him about it. 

Why did he keep doing this to her, constantly making her think that he felt something for her only to deny her…to deny them? One moment he was teasing her and flirting with her, the next cold and distant, disappearing for days or weeks at a time. It was making her head spin trying to figure him out.

“Diana, I need to check the bandages on your back,” J’onn told her, his voice sounding hollow through the mask he wore as he pulled her from her tortured thoughts. “They’re beginning to seep through already. Even with your healing abilities, we cannot risk infection.”

She didn’t reply as she kept her eyes closed, but knew that her friend could read her consenting thoughts. She felt J’onn move her long hair over her left shoulder, the tape covering the countless bandages being pulled away from her skin. 

She couldn’t help wondering what Bruce was doing despite still being mad at him. He was probably completely engrossed in his laptop and all of the unsolved cases he couldn’t investigate in Gotham because he was stuck in here with her. It was either that or he was plotting his desperate escape so he wouldn’t have to stay here with her any longer than he absolutely had to.

She felt the last of the bandages being removed, a sharp intake of air abruptly filling her ears and pricking her curiosity. She knew it wasn’t her or J’onn, leaving only one person who could have reacted to the sight of her wounds like that. Her back hurt like Hades. In all honesty, though, her whole body hurt, but she knew without a second thought that she’d do it all over again in order to save his life. No matter what happened or didn’t happen between them, that would never change.

The only thing that she would change if she had to do over was that she would break Bruce’s arm instead of just dislocating his shoulder when she had grabbed him and slammed him to the floor. Of course, it wasn’t like she’d be on any mission with him for quite some time. 

Anytime something went wrong during a mission together, he always managed to find a way to disappear for several weeks at a time, completely ignoring her and leaving her to wonder what she had done wrong this time to push him away once again.

“I’m sorry, Diana, but I need to clean some more debris from your wounds. I’ll try to be gentle, but this will be quite painful. Do you want some pain medicine before I start?”

“No,” she softly said, keeping her eyes closed and wanting him to just get on with it. The pain from her back would be a welcome respite from the painful hole in her heart.

She could already feel the wounds beginning to bleed, oozing down her back before J’onn had even started to work on them. She was sure it looked far worse than what it actually was. Hopefully by next week, no one would even know they had been there.

“Hold my hand.”

Diana opened her eyes at the sound of the deep baritone voice that was like liquid silk, causing a tremor of desire to roil through her. She found Bruce sitting in a chair beside her bed, his hand held out to her like a peace offering. She felt her anger melt away with the silent plea that pervaded his blue eyes, the unspoken apology that neither could muster at that moment.

“Are you sure you want to risk a broken hand too?” she lightly teased.

“I like to live dangerously, remember?” he replied with a smirk as her hand tentatively moved to his, his fingers instantly wrapping around it.

He tightened his hold on her hand, causing her to smile softly in response, the warmth of his hand like a soothing balm to her frayed soul at that moment. She winced as J’onn began to clean her wounds, biting her bottom lip to keep the strangled sob trapped in her throat. 

“Are you sure you don’t want something for pain?” Bruce asked her, worry lining his face along with the tension that had already settled into his eyes.

“No…it’s not that bad.”

Bruce studied her for a moment, his lips momentarily pursing with disapproval. “It’s a good thing that you’re the embodiment of truth because you’re a terrible liar.”

“Does it really look that bad?”

Bruce paled with her question, heartache she couldn’t or he wouldn’t allow her to ease for him swimming in his piercing blue eyes again. “It’s pretty bad, Princess. It’s not going to heal in a couple of days like you’re used to.”

“I’m sure I’ve had worse,” she murmured with an air of indifference as she studied his face, noticing the bruise that had formed along the left side of his jaw. 

She’d been hurt before in the past and would no doubt be injured again in the future. It was the nature of her mission to Man’s World and she willingly accepted it especially when it came to protecting her teammates, even more so when it came to Bruce.

He grimaced in response, shaking his head. “This is the worst I’ve ever seen you injured.”

“It doesn’t hurt that much,” she tried to tell him in an effort to ease the worry that was more than evident in his face and in the way that he held his body, but she knew that she had failed miserably.

A frown formed on Bruce’s face as he gave her a reproving glare. “Don’t even try to put on a brave face. It’s me, Princess. You don’t always have to be strong in front of me. You were severely injured, Diana. You’re more than allowed to be in pain.”

“Like you show pain?” she countered, quirking an eyebrow.

“I show pain,” he insisted. “I just never stick around long enough for anyone to see it if I can help it.”

Diana frowned at him, her eyes drifting to the cast on her right leg. She was startled to find a black bat symbol drawn on her cast that covered Flash’s message of love. She looked back up at him, a smile touching her lips. “Nice bat symbol.”

Bruce steeled himself in an attempt to remain impervious to her warm smile and the way her blue eyes practically sparkled despite the pain that he knew she had to be in, but it was next to impossible. When it came to her, he was completely defenseless.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he claimed.

“Bruce, we’re in isolation. You and I are the only two in here.”

“J’onn could have done it.”

“It was not me,” J’onn interjected.

Diana tried not to laugh, but she couldn’t help picturing Bruce sitting by her bed while she slept, drawing a black bat symbol on her cast. It warmed her heart as surely as if he had actually kissed her, sending tingles through her. She gently began to caress the back of his hand with her thumb, showing him that she appreciated his attempt to make amends and put a smile on her face.

Bruce felt as if the room was suddenly growing warmer by the second, the feel of her caress on his hand sending little jolts of electricity up his arm as he lost himself in the depths of her blue eyes. It was moments like these that made him want to drop to his knees and profess his undying love for her, to ask her to stay with him forever and never leave him.

But he couldn’t. Not her. She could never be his princess, his Diana. He was too dark and broken and dangerous, his life far too complex and his enemies far too deadly to drag her into his world. He’d only end up hurting her, crushing her beautiful spirit and that would kill him for sure.

While he was here, though, he could at least pretend that she was his...couldn’t he? 

“You know you have no actual proof it was me,” Bruce reminded her, internally grimacing as she tightened her hold on his hand, squeezing her eyes closed against the pain that shot through her as her entire body grew rigid.

“Sorry,” she sheepishly whispered, quickly loosening her grip on his hand.

“Don’t be,” he reassured her. “I knew the risks.”

A confused look abruptly flashed across her face as she studied him, her forehead creasing. “Why aren’t you wearing your arm sling?” she asked.

“Don’t need it,” he maintained as Diana gritted her teeth against the fire that seared across her back as sure if flames had just scorched it. “Princess, you need to take something for the pain. You can’t keep trying to ignore it.”

“I’ll take some medicine…if you wear your sling,” she bargained with him, sucking in a shuddering breath.

Bruce glared at her, catching the slight smile on the Martian’s face despite the mask he wore. “My shoulder isn’t nearly as bad as your…well, your entire body is. Your back is flayed open, Princess. I just have a dislocated joint. There’s big difference there.”

“But I have super healing abilities. You don’t,” she reminded him. “I’ll be healed in a few days while you’ll still be nursing that shoulder for weeks.”

Diana flinched, her entire body trembling with the pain that came with J’onn’s treatment. It stole her breath, pricking Bruce’s heart again. “Fine,” he relented, unable to take another moment of watching her suffer like this. “J’onn, give her something.”

“Not until Bruce puts on his sling,” she countered. Bruce gave her his fiercest Bat glower, but it failed miserably as she met his glare with one of her own. “Now, Wayne.”

He was about to stand up to get it when J’onn handed him the sling. He accepted it with a sneer, putting it on with a grimace as pain shot through his shoulder and a grumble of some very choice words. “Happy?” he snapped.

“Very,” she replied with a smile that seemed to light up the entire room.

“J’onn, give her enough to knock her out until you’re done,” Bruce told him.

“J’onn, don’t you dare,” Diana warned him.

“I believe this is what they say on Earth that a kindergarten teacher feels like,” J’onn decided as he reached for the syringe that he’d already prepared for her just in case.

“J’onn, who do you fear most?” Bruce questioned him, leveling him with a warning glare.

“Sorry, Diana,” the Martian Manhunter apologized as he injected a healthy dose of drugs into her IV. “I’m going to have to agree with Batman on this. I can’t bear to see you in pain either.”

“Traitor,” Diana growled. “I hate both of you.”

“I know, Princess,” Bruce replied with a slight smirk.

He could tell as soon as the medicine began to have its desired effect on her, her eyelids growing heavy as she struggled to stay awake. He was both disappointed and relieved when her hand grew lax in his, wishing the moment wasn’t over already, but thankful she wasn’t in anymore pain.

“Thank you, J’onn,” he said as he gently stroked her hair before brushing the raven strands off her bandaged forehead. He didn’t think he could’ve handled seeing her in pain like that a moment longer.

“You need to tell her what you feel for her,” J’onn told him as he continued the task of cleaning and redressing her wounds.

“I can’t,” he softly replied. “Look at what’s already happened to her. It’s too dangerous for her to be near me, J’onn. How much harder would it be for both of us if we were together? She’d only get hurt again…possibly lose her life. I…I couldn’t live with that.”

“Don’t you think Diana deserves a say in this?”

Bruce thought for a moment before looking back up at the Martian. “Would you still have married M'yri'ah if you had known that you were going to lose her?”

J’onn did not hesitate to respond to Batman’s question, didn’t even need time to think about it. “Yes, without question I would marry her knowing I would only end up losing her and my children. I do not regret for one moment the time that I had with her or falling in love with her. She was and always will be the love of my life. Nothing could ever change that. Not even death.”

His answer somewhat amazed Bruce and at the same time he had known the answer before he’d even asked it. It didn’t make his decision to cut off all ties with Diana any easier to swallow, but he just couldn’t risk it. He could barely stand to see her injured like this without having known her touch or her kisses.

J’onn could easily sense the fierce war going on inside Batman’s heart and mind despite the barriers he kept firmly in place, the man and the Bat both striving to win the battle for his soul. It was disheartening to know what these two could have together if only Bruce could let go of his demons and allow himself the happiness that he knew Diana could truly provide him.

“Bruce…” J’onn began only to be interrupted, prepared to help him see what was right in front of him.

“Nightwing to Batman.”

“Batman here,” Bruce responded with his usual grating rasp. He stood to his feet with a grimace of pain, making his way to his bed where his laptop was. He hoped that Dick had been able to get some much needed information for him. Right now, Dick was his eyes and ears to the outside world. “What have you got?”

“Unfortunately, not much yet,” Dick informed him. “We’ve been running every test we can think of on that shirt you sent down to us. We haven’t been able to narrow down where exactly it was made, but I think we’re starting to eliminate companies with the capability of making such high-tech material.”

“I guess that’s better than nothing,” Bruce muttered, clearly unhappy with the lack of more definitive information. “And what about Gotham?”

“Nothing exciting outside of the usual.”

“Has Poison Ivy made any move yet?”

“No, not yet,” Dick replied. “Do you think she could be behind what happened to you and Wonder Woman?”

“It’s a definite possibility, but she would need to partner with someone,” Bruce disclosed. “The equipment was far too advanced for her to be able to get her hands on. She would need to have someone with money and a lot of weight to throw around in her back pocket, probably under her spell doing her bidding.”

“I’ll keep trying to track Ivy down,” Dick told him. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got tackled by a Meta Amazon,” Bruce said with a glance at Diana, his heart still heavy with guilt. J’onn had thankfully moved to change the bandage on her forehead.

“Yah, well, that Amazon saved your ass,” Dick reminded him. “If it weren’t for her, you’d be dead right now.”

“I know,” Bruce stated with a growl at the reminder. He didn’t need to be told. All he had to do was look to his right and see her broken body lying right there reminding him how she’d nearly died trying to save him.

“You know you really need to talk to her—”

“How are things at home?” he interrupted before Dick could finish. 

He knew what his eldest son was going to say, but he didn’t want to talk about it. Dick had already managed to pick up on his feelings for Diana. He didn’t want to be told how he was making a mistake by cutting off all contact with her once he was out of here. He heard it enough in his own head as it was, playing over and over again like a scornful mantra that refused to end.

“Fine,” Dick replied, releasing a frustrated breath that silently said this conversation wasn’t going to be forgotten. “Little bird and the old man are taking care of everything including the business.”

“Good,” Bruce coolly stated. “I’m hoping to be out of here by tomorrow. Keep me posted of any changes or new information that comes in.”

“Will do,” Dick said. “Nightwing out.”

Bruce reached for his laptop, furious with everything that was happening now. He did not like being stripped of control over a situation like this nor did he like being away from Gotham for any length of time especially when Poison Ivy was plotting something.

Not only was there was a bioterrorism agent on the loose that he and Diana had been exposed to, but now he was being forced to face what his heart had been trying to make him accept. He wasn’t prepared for this. He needed to get back to Gotham, not sit here wrestling with feelings he never should have allowed to take root in the first place.

He reminded himself that there was nothing for him to do because there was no relationship between him and Diana past friendship and teammates. Any feelings that he might have for her were inconsequential in light of the glaring facts. It was far better to break her heart now than for her to lose her life later because of him.

**_Gotham, Wayne Manor, 20:00 EST_ **

Dick shook his head as he sat back in Bruce’s chair before the massive computer system in the Batcave. Even injured and exposed to a possibly deadly bioterrorism agent, Bruce was all business and mission focused no matter the situation. He didn’t know why he should be the least bit amazed. It was the way Bruce had always been, always would be. He doubted anything or anyone could ever change that…except for maybe one.

He was more than relieved that Diana had been there to protect him or Bruce would no doubt be dead right now. He knew he wasn’t out of the woods yet, though. They still had to figure out what exactly this contagion was that Bruce and Diana had been exposed to. His stomach churned with the thought of how badly things could still become for them.

He knew that Bruce said he was going to get out of isolation by tomorrow, but Dick wasn’t buying that for a single minute. His surrogate father was undoubtedly itching to return to Gotham, but even more than that he probably wanted to escape being locked up with Diana.

Everyone knew Bruce had feelings for her despite his refusal to admit it to himself or anyone else. He just hoped that this would force him to finally face what everyone else already knew—he was head over heels in love with Diana. 

“So how is Master Bruce fairing being cooped up with her Highness?”

Dick smiled as he turned to face Alfred. “I’m sure you can guess.”

Alfred scowled with the confirmation of his suspicions with a curt nod of his head. “Cantankerous as ever I can imagine.”

“I feel bad for Diana being quarantined with him,” Dick remarked as he stood from the chair to follow Alfred upstairs into the manor. “That cannot be a pleasant experience for her. He’s probably climbing the walls trying to get out of there.”

“Hopefully, Master J’onn will have the good sense to just sedate him until they figure out what’s going on,” Alfred replied as they entered the library.

“It’s the only way either of them will get any rest from his constant complaining and sniping.”

“Oh, come on. Bruce won’t be that bad,” Tim abruptly interjected as he came around the corner, a somewhat dreamy expression forming on his teenaged face. “I mean he’s with Wonder Woman. How bad could that possibly be?”

Alfred and Dick shared a knowing look as they headed towards the kitchen, the delicious aroma of supper assaulting their senses and resulting in rumbling stomachs. “You know how Bruce is, Tim,” Dick said. “He hates being locked up and away from Gotham for very long. He’s probably already driving everyone crazy up there.”

“Yah, but it’s Wonder Woman, bro,” Tim pointed out again, the dreamy expression returning to his face once more. “Nothing can be bad if he’s with her.”

Dick chuckled in response, ruffling the teenager’s hair as he took his seat at the kitchen table. Tim jerked his head away with a scowl; quickly raking his fingers through his hair to make sure every single strand was back in place before sitting down next to his older brother.

“You’ll understand someday, Timmy,” Dick teased him.

“Don’t call me that,” the teenager snapped, brightening as he took his plate from Alfred. “Thanks, Alfred. I’m starving.”

“When aren’t you hungry, Master Timothy?” Alfred asked with an affectionate smile as he handed a plate to Dick. “Does Master Bruce have any idea about who is behind what happened to him and Miss Diana?”

Dick barely paused in shoveling a forkful of food into his mouth as he answered. “Right now, he’s focusing on Poison Ivy as the source of the contagion, but we need a lot more evidence. All we have right now are some leads pointing to Ivy planning something big and Bruce and Diana infected with some sort of contagion that no one can identify yet.”

“That’s a pretty strong coincidence,” Tim muttered as he poked at his peas with the tip of his fork, still lost in his thoughts about Wonder Woman.

“I agree, but for now it’s just that—a coincidence,” Dick stated, sounding more like Nightwing than Dick Grayson at that moment. “That’s why tonight we’re hitting Ivy hard. We’re going to all of her old hideouts, following up on all of her known associates. By the time we come home in the morning, I want to know exactly where she’s at and what she’s been up to.”

Tim whistled as his head shot up from his plate in shock. “Dick, that’s not going to take all night, it’s going to take all week if not more.”

“I know, but we don’t have a choice now,” Dick snapped, his frustration and worry rising to the surface. “Bruce and Diana are in danger of dying if we don’t find some answers fast.”

Tim grew sullen as he returned to poking at his peas once more. Peas definitely weren’t his favorite, but he knew if he didn’t eat them, Alfred would be making him sooner rather than later. “How was he? Did he sound sick yet?”

Dick immediately regretted his harsh tone, reaching over and placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. “No, he says that he feels fine,” he informed him. “I’m sure he’ll be alright, Tim. You know Bruce. He’s too stubborn to die or let anything keep him down for long. He’ll be back home before we know it.”

Tim only nodded his head as he took another bite of his pot roast. Alfred watched the pair as they ate their dinner, sensing the extent of their worry over their father. He couldn’t help but share it with them. This had the potential to be the worst catastrophe that Bruce had ever managed to get himself into.

“Chins up, boys,” Alfred chimed in with a forced smile. “You know Master Bruce always manages to wiggle himself out of every tight spot he gets himself into. I’m sure this will be no different. Now, eat your peas, Master Timothy, so you can get out on patrol and find Miss Ivy.”

Tim nodded his head, digging into his peas as he glanced at Dick. “Has Barbara found anything yet?”

“She has narrowed down the companies that could have manufactured that material that Bruce found, but we don’t have a name yet. She’s going to let me know as soon as she has more information for us.”

“Would it help to go to the compound and see what we can find?” Tim asked.

“Maybe, but for now I think we need to focus on finding Ivy,” Dick decided. “If we hit a dead end with her, then we’ll be making a trip to the Nubian Desert.”

**_Gotham, Abandoned Chemical Plant, 22:16 EST_ **

Poison Ivy walked among the lush garden that she had created in the heart of the chemical plant that she had turned into her own private haven, appreciating the paradise that had risen from the depths of atrocity. Once churching out nasty chemicals that brought harm to Mother Nature, it was ironically being used now to house her cherished plants.

She moved through what used to be a laboratory, vines and flowers covering what was left of tables and beakers. Smashed test tubes and slides lay scattered all over the floor. What once had been a cold wasteland that had been forgotten and subjected to the ravages of time was now flourishing with vegetation and beauty amongst the cool steel of industry.

Industry. 

Ivy sneered to herself with the mere thought of it. That was what was killing her beloved plants. Man and its hunger for more—more money, more cars, more homes, more depletion of the Earth’s resources that was necessary to nurture her beloved children.

It was time for a vegetation revolution and she was going to bring it whether the world was ready for it or not.

She paused before a large pink flower, lovingly leaning over to caress the velvety petals against her cheek and savoring the heavenly scent. “I’m back, my precious babies,” she tenderly cooed. “I know I’ve been gone for a while, but I’m home now and we have much work to do.”

The other plants around her began to turn their flowered heads towards the soothing sound of her voice, bobbing gently in response to her words. Vines of every sort seemed to swell with joy at her presence, leaves fanning her with their happiness that their mother and creator was home at last.

Poison Ivy slipped off her long fitted green jacket, casually tossing it aside. It was readily caught by a couple of vines that came together to form a coat tree for her. She sauntered past a row of ferns, humming a lullaby to them as she lightly ran her fingers over their fronds.

“Rest, my pretties,” Ivy encouraged them. “We have much work to do come tomorrow. Very soon, you will be ruling by my side.”

She continued to hum softly, running her fingers through her long red hair as she settled into her chaise longue made of vines and lined with red roses. She sighed wearily as she stretched her lithe body, allowing her muscles to relax. It had been a long three days, but she was finally home now and able to continue on with her campaign.

Unfortunately, Batman was already working to exterminate her plans, squashing her desire for Mother Earth to reign supreme. She would put an end to the debauchery of mankind and their wastefulness, their abuse of the precious flora that she cherished above all else. They continually tried to stomp it out, but now she and her children would be the ones to stomp them out.

Ivy closed her eyes, drawing a deep cleansing breath and allowing her thoughts to drift to Batman. She would finally make him pay for interfering in her dream of a world ruled by plants. Time and again he had gotten in her way, destroying her plans and locking her away in Arkham away from her babies. 

This time would be different, though. A tropical paradise covering every inch of the earth would be hers to reign over and no one would be able to stop her this time.

“What are you doing?”

Ivy tensed with the sound of his voice, internally cringing at the interruption. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

“We don’t have time for this,” he snapped. “We need to think about changing our plans before Batman catches up to us. He’s already closing in faster than we had thought.”

“Let me worry about Batman,” she replied with a sigh. “You have enough to worry about with making sure your part is taken care of.”

“And just what do you plan on doing with him?”

“That is for me to know and you to find out,” she stated with growing anger. Her green eyes opened, flashing in warning to him to not push her any further. “You just concern yourself with having the venom ready to release like we planned.”

“So you’re still going to move ahead as planned?” he demanded to know.

Ivy sat up, her hands coming to rest on her chaise of ivy on either side of her as she glared at her partner. “Yes, we are. I don’t care how close Batman thinks he is to finding out about us. Whatever he thinks he knows, he doesn’t know the end result and that we can use to our advantage.”

He shook his head as he angrily shoved his hands into his pockets. “I have put a lot into this. If this plan blows up in our faces because you are so obsessed with making Batman pay, then—”

“I can assure you that I am more than prepared to see this through to the very end regardless of Batman,” she spat out like venom. “Do not question me again about this.”

With that, thick vines and large Venus fly trap heads began to slither closer to him, closing in on him from behind and both sides. He turned his head to find a Venous fly trap head just inches away from his face, teeth snapping at him.

He turned a dark eye on her. “We need to lay low for now, wait until Batman moves on to something else and then release our venom.”

“I told you don’t worry about Batman,” she repeated, her fingers lightly tracing the edge of his jaw. “Now, welcome me home.”

He leaned in and kissed her, savoring the feel of her in his arms again. As he lost himself in her, he still couldn’t help worrying about Batman and the trouble that he would no doubt cause them.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**_Wayne Manor, Gotham, June 18th, 5:45 EST_ **

Nightwing parked his motorcycle next to the Batmobile, shutting off the engine with a prolonged huff of exhaustion mingled with anger. He sat on his bike for several minutes before finally removing his domino mask and getting off.

The sound of Robin coming down the secret tunnel caused him to wait where he was. Robin pulled up beside him; giving him a look that he knew must have matched his own. Frustration—pure, unadulterated frustration. They had spent the entire night scouring Gotham for a person who by all counts had simply fallen off the face of the earth.

Just as Dick was about to turn away to head to the showers, Tim shot him a huge grin, one that swiftly replaced the look of agitation that had just been there a moment ago. From his position on his bike, Robin fished out a clear evidence bag out of a pocket, holding it up for his brother to see.

Dick felt an unexpected spark of hope take root as he stared at the evidence bag, one corner of his mouth quirking with excitement. “What did you find and why didn’t you contact me when you found it?”

Tim jumped off his bike with a cocky grin that he could have only learned from his mentor-father. “I found it at one of Poison Ivy’s old hide-outs just before I came in. Decided we would need to spend some time analyzing it so might as well do it over pancakes and bacon.”

A smile slowly spread across Dick’s face. “I love how you think, little bird. I’m starving.”

“Me too,” Tim agreed as he fell in step beside his brother on the way to the showers. “That’s why I called in already to let Alfred know that we were on our way home. He promised to make us a big breakfast.”

Dick clapped his younger brother on the shoulder as they reached the changing area. “Bruce doesn’t pay you enough, kid.”

Tim shot him a confused look as he leaned over to pull his boots off. “He doesn’t pay me at all.”

“It was a joke, Tim,” Dick replied with a roll of his eyes. “So what is it that you found?”

“Not real sure,” he answered him as he handed the evidence bag to him to inspect.

Dick took the bag, holding it up to the light as Tim headed towards one of the showers. It looked like spores of some kind. They were unlike any kind of spore that he’d ever seen before especially in all the time that he’d help Bruce take-on Poison Ivy. They were about the size of a pea and a strange shade of blue.

“Where did you say you found these?”

“Ivy’s last known hide-out,” Tim yelled from the showers, the sound of the running water somewhat muffling his voice. “It didn’t look like anyone had been there in a few weeks, but I found a couple of those lying on the floor beneath a table. Everything else that might have been there had been cleared out. It looks like she’s found herself a new place to hide.”

“I’m going to send a message to Bruce to let him know what we found.”

“I found it, bro,” Tim reminded him.

“Fine,” Dick grumbled. “I’ll let him know what you found.”

“Then we can eat and get to work on those spores.”  
“We’ll need to get some sleep at some point,” Dick reminded him as he headed to the other shower. “I’ve got an afternoon shift in Blüdhaven before we can patrol again tonight.”

“I can work on it myself,” Tim offered, coming out of the shower in a t-shirt and shorts as he dried his hair with a towel. “I have my days free now that school’s out for the summer.”

Dick wasn’t too thrilled with the idea and made sure his brother knew it. “I don’t want you working on this by yourself. No offense, Tim, but if these are what infected Bruce and Diana, it could be very dangerous. I don’t want you to end up in isolation with them. I need you on the outside with me working the case.”

“Fine,” Tim muttered in disappointment as he tossed his towel into the laundry bin.

“Besides, knowing Bruce, he’ll want all the information on the spores sent up to the ‘Tower so he can review everything himself.”

Tim’s face brightened a little with the reminder. “I can take the information up to him.”

“No can do,” Dick yelled from the shower. “Bruce already said you weren’t allowed on the ‘Tower, not to mention they’re in isolation so you won’t be able to go in there anyways.”

“Yah, but I could at least see him,” Tim pouted as he sat down the bench, picking up the evidence bag again and holding the clear bag up to the light.

“I’m sure that he’s not in a mood that you would want to see right now,” Dick reminded him. “He’s been forced into quarantine. I’m sure he’s giving them hell up there.”

Tim couldn’t help but laugh with the picture that came to his mind of Bruce plotting some sort of intricate escape plan from isolation on the Watchtower. “Yah, I bet he’s driving everyone up there absolutely crazy.”

**_Watchtower Infirmary Isolation, June 18th, 11:30 EST_ **

“…out of here.”

“No, you’re staying…”

“…me what to do.”

“Don’t make me…”

“…couldn’t and you know it.”

The sounds of arguing quickly chipped away at her unconsciousness, forcing her awareness to the surface once more. It took her a couple of moments to remember where she was and why she was here, but it finally started to click into place as she tried to shove aside the thick haze that blanketed her mind from the drugs J’onn had given her.

Glancing to her left, she found Bruce and Kal arguing or who she assumed was Kal dressed in a hazmat uniform. Bruce was more than a little furious as well as obstinate as ever, fury etched in his face and fused into his rigid posture that had him standing ram-rod straight.

“You know you can’t leave,” Superman heatedly stated, his voice echoing with the hazmat mask he was wearing.

“I have to get out of here,” Bruce ground out through clenched teeth. “I can’t help her if I’m stuck here in isolation.”

“Bruce, you know as well as I do that you are in just as much danger as Diana is right now,” Clark countered. “You both are highly contagious.”

“Neither of us is showing any symptoms of disease yet, Clark,” he stated. “Besides, I can’t research an antidote for this if I’m stuck in here. I need to get back to my lab in the cave. That’s where all my equipment is located.”

“You’ve been exposed to a possibly deadly contagion, Bruce,” Superman reminded him.

“I feel perfectly fine.”

“You feel fine?” Clark incredulously repeated. “You have a dislocated shoulder, broken ribs, a bad chest contusion, a head concussion. Do I need to go on?”

“I’ve had worse, but she hasn’t. She nearly died in that explosion trying to protect me,” Bruce snapped, pointing at Diana without looking at her. “You know as well as I do that it won’t be long before this contagion is released to the public. I need to fix this now, Kent. I need to find out who is behind this before she gets sick. I’ll never forgive myself if—”

Realization suddenly washed over Clark like a deluge as Bruce abruptly stopped talking. Bruce averted his eyes with the sudden feeling that he’d just said far too much, revealing far more to the Kryptonian than he had intended to. Clark knew.

“This isn’t just about who is manufacturing the contagion, is it?” Clark demanded as he stared at him with a look of incredulity coloring his face. “It’s about D…”

“Shut up, Clark,” Bruce growled, turning his back to him, folding his arms across his chest despite the pain that lanced through his shoulder with the movement.

Her entire body screamed in protest as Diana gingerly attempted to roll onto her left side to see what was happening. She gasped sharply, catching the attention of both men and inadvertently putting an end to the pair’s conversation. She was breathing heavily by the time she had settled onto her side, her body trembling with the pain that had seized her.

Bruce was at her side in an instant, concealing his own flash of pain the sudden action had generated. “Easy, Princess,” he told her as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

“What are you two arguing about?” she asked, concerned.

Bruce looked almost sheepish as he glanced at Clark who was intently studying his two best friends at that moment, wondering how he had missed something so obvious up until now. Bruce turned his attention back to Diana; refusing to go down a road he knew that Clark was intent on going down. There was nothing to discuss. Not now, not ever.

“I was just telling Clark that I feel fine and think that I should be released from isolation so I can track down whoever is behind all of this,” Bruce confessed, noting how the color was beginning to return to Diana’s cheeks more. She looked a little better than she had yesterday, but only a little. She still had a long ways to go.

“Did J’onn figure out what we were exposed to?” she asked, her forehead creasing with obvious worry, noticing that he wasn’t wearing his sling like he was supposed to be. “And where is your sling?”

Bruce’s lips pursed into a grim line that spoke volumes, but he answered nonetheless. “No, J’onn hasn’t been able to determine anything yet and I don’t need it. My shoulder is fine.”

“Which is why you two need to stay put until J’onn can get this contagion identified,” Clark interjected, moving to stand behind Bruce. “We can’t let you leave here until J’onn knows for sure that you are not contagious.”

“Clark, stay out of this,” Bruce warned. “Let me do what I do best.”

“I want to help,” Diana interrupted, trying to sit up only to have Bruce gently push her back against the pillows behind her.

“No!” Clark and Bruce both exclaimed in unison as they glared at the Amazon.

“You are not going anywhere, Princess,” Bruce adamantly stated with a threatening glare, his sharp tone leaving no room for argument, although she rarely ever heeded it, much to his annoyance.

Diana rolled her eyes, blowing him off as sat up in bed, immediately regretting the decision. She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out as fire seared across her back, her arms giving out on her and forcing her back against her pillow again with a gasping cry, her breathing ragged. What in Hera had they put in that bomb to cause her this much pain? 

“Diana,” Bruce angrily growled, adjusting the blanket back over her. “Stay in bed or I swear I will tie you to it.”

She scowled at him as she fought to catch her breath, swallowing back the thick knot of tears that had filled her throat with the pain that thrummed through her. “If you can leave, then so can I.”

“See what you started, Bruce,” Clark hissed, smacking Bruce on the back of the head, but not nearly as hard as he would’ve liked to.

Bruce turned to level his fiercest glower at Clark who actually took a small step back either out of fear or self-preservation. Clark himself wasn’t even sure which. “Don’t you have something in Metropolis you could be taking care of?” Bruce questioned him.

“Actually, I was going to take GL back to the compound you guys were investigating to see if there was anything more we could find,” Clark informed them. “In the meantime, you two stay put. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

Bruce sneered at him as he turned to leave…leaving him alone with the princess again. It had been over twenty-four hours since he had woken up in isolation and he was already beginning to crawl up the walls to get out of here. And it only had fifty percent to do with the fact that he needed to track down the makers of that contagion before it was unleashed on the world.

His attention was drawn back to her when he felt her hand covering his, the warmth that surged up his arm like a jolt to his heart with such a simple touch as this. As he met her blue-eyed gaze filled with such affection, he couldn’t begin to imagine how much more incredible being with her truly would be, to share such intimacy with her…to know her kisses, her taste, every curve of her body.

He found himself tightening his hold on her hand, allowing himself the luxury of submerging himself in those ocean blue eyes for just a moment. He had come so very close to losing this…losing her. It terrified him senseless. He had to get out of here and find a cure before she got sick. 

Though he was loathe to admit it, he knew it was coming. It was only a matter of time. The way that lab had been set up with such advanced equipment, the high-tech security of the compound and the way the bomb had been constructed with the bioterrorism agent all added up to trouble of the worst kind.

“Bruce,” she softly said, noticing the emotions swimming in his eyes. “I…”

“Lunch is here!” Flash announced as he entered in a hazmat suit with a tray of food in each hand.

Bruce released the breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, giving her hand a squeeze before pulling his hand free from hers. “Are you hungry?” he asked her, relieved by the interruption. He knew where this was going and he didn’t feel strong enough to fight her right now. He would have given her anything she wanted and so much more at that moment.

Diana looked disappointed, but quickly dismissed it. “Starving,” she confessed, trying to sit up higher in her bed.

“I imagine so,” Bruce said, forcing back emotions that he’d allow to rise too close to the surface. She always had that affect on him, making him want to lose control. “You haven’t eaten in two days.”

Bruce stood his feet, adjusting her pillows behind her before pulling the bedside table over. He took one of the trays of food from Flash and placed it before her, removing the cover for her. “Do you need me to feed you?”

Diana frowned at him, but her eyes abruptly softening with the concerned look he was giving her. “No, thank you,” she replied. “I think I can manage. It’s my leg that’s broken, not my arm.”

Taking his tray from Flash, Bruce settled into the chair next to Diana’s bed, feeling the need to be near her at that moment. He tried to convince himself that he could allow this little indulgence now since he wasn’t ever going to see her again after this was over.

Flash sped around to the other side of Diana’s bed, glancing down to notice the black bat symbol that covered up half of his message of love to Wonder Woman. “Bats!” Flash cried in indignation. “You covered up part of my message!”

“It’s okay, Wally,” Diana reassured him as she took her fork in hand. “You can write me a new message. There’s still plenty of cast for you to sign.”

“Sweet!” he exclaimed. “I’ll go get a marker. I’ll be right back.”

The corner of Bruce’s mouth curled into a small smirk as he took the cover off his tray before setting it on the floor. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, watching her as she brushed her raven hair back behind her ear. He watched in amusement as she carefully began to separate her food to opposite sides of her plate, thinking how unbelievably adorable she truly was even as broken and bruised as she was.

Satisfied that her food was finally in place, Diana dipped her French fry into her ketchup before looking up to find Bruce staring at her with an amused expression on his face. His piercing blue eyes were dancing with something that she couldn’t quite identify, but it made her stomach flip in response nonetheless.

“What?” she asked.

Bruce noticed the way her cheeks stained pink with his intense gaze, making his breath hitch. “Who would have ever guessed that the Princess of the Amazons was so finicky with her food? You always have to separate your meal so that nothing is touching before you can eat it.”

Diana lifted her chin in mock resentment as she took another French fry. “I don’t always do that,” she maintained with a sniff of annoyance.

Bruce chuckled softly as he continued to watch her. “Yes, you do, Princess. Every single time.”

Diana’s lips curled with the revelation that he had noticed so much about her, piquing her curiosity. “And what else do you notice that I do all the time?”

“You always eat all of your French fries before your sandwich,” he replied, leaning forward. “You only eat carrots as long as they’re raw and you’ll only eat celery as long as it has peanut butter on it…smooth not crunchy. You love chocolate, but milk chocolate is your absolute favorite.

“You almost always tuck your hair behind your right ear, but behind both ears when you’re furious. Your forehead creases when you are trying to work something out in your head and you bite your lower lip when you’re apprehensive about something…or you’re trying to hide that you’re in pain…like now.”

Diana’s blush deepened with every observation he counted off, immediately releasing her lower lip from her teeth as she tried to ignore the pain she was in that came with sitting up. She was stunned by how much he truly noticed about her. Her throat was unexpectedly dry as they stared at one another, both lost in the moment and the intense connection that they felt with one another. Her heart was thumping wildly against her chest wall. She just prayed to Aphrodite that he couldn’t hear it.

“You seem to notice a quite a lot about me,” she said in a sultry tone that she hadn’t even been trying to convey, taking another French fry and biting off the end of it.

Bruce could tear his gaze away from her, realizing how much he’d just given away. Before he could say anything more, though, Flash thankfully returned just in time to save him from digging himself an even deeper hole. 

“Got it!” he exclaimed as he raced into the room in his isolation uniform. “Sorry it took me so long, but ran into Fire. Had to tell her I was officially off the market.”

Diana held Bruce’s gaze a heartbeat longer before turning her attention to the speedster. “You have a new girlfriend?”

“Well, not yet, but I think this is the one,” Flash replied.

Diana smiled at the speedster as she flashed a knowing grin at Bruce. Wally said that about every girl he was infatuated with. “What’s this one’s name?”

“Linda Park,” Flash said what would have been in a dreamy voice if it hadn’t been for the mask he wore. “We’re going out this Friday night.”

“Where are you taking her?” Bruce asked as picked up his sandwich.

“I haven’t quite decided,” Flash thoughtfully replied as he leaned forward on his elbows on Diana’s bed, working on a new message for her cast. “I was thinking pizza and a movie.”

Bruce groaned as he shook his head. “That just screams disaster,” he told him. “Take her some place nice, show her a good time.”

Flash looked over at Bruce with an appalled expression on his face. “You do realize I don’t have a mountain of money like you do, right?”

“What about your endorsement deals?” Diana asked, finishing her fries. “You make a lot of money doing that.”

“Yah, but I’m saving that money for something big,” he replied. “I want to get another van.”

“Another van?” Bruce repeated, eyebrows rising in stunned disbelief.

“Yah, what’s wrong with a van?” Flash questioned him, tilting his head as he pulled back to appreciate his handiwork. “There you go, Wondy. Good as new.”

“I hope you realize this cast will probably be off in a couple more days,” Diana pointed out.

“If you’re lucky, Princess,” Bruce corrected her. “Your leg was crushed pretty badly. It’ll probably be at least another week, maybe even two before you get that thing off.”

“We’ll see,” she shot back, mischief glinting in her eyes. “I may just get tired of it and cut it off myself.”

“Don’t you dare,” he stated, frustration punctuating his every word. “You’re worse than a child.”

“You should talk,” Diana shot back. “Where’s your sling, Bruce?”

Bruce refused to meet her intent glare, focusing instead on his tray of food. “I told you I don’t need it. My shoulder isn’t that bad.”

“Then I guess I don’t need this cast anymore,” she decided, reaching for the knife on her tray.

“We are not playing this game again,” he snapped, annoyed.

“I don’t know,” she sweetly replied, waving her knife at him. “You tell me.”

Flash stood to his feet, sensing an impending battle of wills on the rise. “You know I think I better go,” he decided. “Hey, Bruce, were you able to get anything off that USB drive I found for you?”

Bruce tore his eyes away from the princess as thoughts of wrestling that knife out of her hand danced through his head. “Not yet,” he grumbled. “It was encrypted. I’m still working on breaking it down. I should hopefully have something soon.”

“Ok, well I’ll catch you two later,” Flash said as he made a quick exit.

“Drop the knife, Princess, and no one will get hurt,” Bruce warned her.

J’onn entered at that moment, wishing he hadn’t when he noticed the expressions on both of his patients’ faces as well as the dinner knife in Diana’s hand. “I wanted to give you an update on your lab tests.”

“Hera, you’ve drawn enough blood I’m surprised I have any left for you to test,” Diana muttered, reaching for her iced mocha.

“Your test results have come back normal…for the most part,” J’onn informed them.

“Great,” Bruce said, getting to his feet and setting his tray on his bed. “I can leave now.”

“Not quite,” J’onn corrected him. “I said normal for the most part. Both of your white blood cell counts are on the high side which has me concerned that something is definitely brewing.”

“I feel fine,” Bruce claimed, ignoring the fact that his shoulder throbbed and that every breath he drew hurt like hell. He swore there was a knife imbedded in his left side.

Diana turned her attention to her plate, poking at her cheesecake with the tip of her fork. She didn’t want to admit it, but it hurt her how badly Bruce wanted to get out of isolation with her. She knew that she shouldn’t take it personally. He’d be like this no matter who he was locked up in here with, but things actually seemed to be starting to progress a little between them. 

He seemed on the verge of truly opening up to her, allowing her to see what he kept locked up so tightly inside of him. She had seen something in his eyes, emotion that he rarely let her see and it had been real. She wanted that moment back again. She wanted more with him.

“Bruce, you know I cannot allow you to leave,” J’onn calmly reminded him. “You know as well as I do how dangerous it could potentially be not only for you, but for those you come into contact with.”

Bruce dropped down on the edge of his bed, an angry expression on his face. He looked over at Diana, noticing how quiet she had become, the way that she was picking at her food with her fork and refusing to make eye contact with either of them. It was another thing that he observed about her. She picked at her food when something was bothering her or hurt her.

“Are you okay, Princess?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she softly said, not meeting his stare. “I’m just not hungry anymore.”

Bruce studied her for a couple of moments, knowing there was far more to it. “I thought you were starving.”

“I was, but I’m not hungry now,” she claimed, pushing her bedside table aside as well as her tray with her uneaten sandwich, dessert, and iced mocha.

Now, Bruce knew something was definitely wrong. She didn’t want to eat and she didn’t finish her iced mocha. He moved to sit on the edge of Diana’s bed again, J’onn quickly making himself scarce. He was more than relieved that Bruce didn’t seem to be putting up a fight about being forced to stay again.

“What’s wrong, Princess?”

Diana didn’t get a chance to answer as an alarm beeped on Bruce’s laptop letting him know that he had an incoming message. Annoyed by the interruption, he got up from her bed to check his laptop, his frown turning into an expression of pure anger.

“What is it?” Diana asked, doing her best to shift to the edge of the bed. She was sick of being in this bed already and it hadn’t even been two full days yet.

Bruce typed furiously on his laptop, clearly unhappy with the message he received. “Oracle is investigating that material I found at the compound. She’s finally narrowed down where it was manufactured.”

“Where was it made?”

“A subsidiary company of Wayne Enterprises,” he replied with a deadly calm that was fiercer than any growl that she’d ever heard from him.

She knew he was livid because he hadn’t known this type of manufacturing had been going on, but how could he possibly know every single thing that had been going on in every single company that had ties to Wayne Enterprises?

Holding her breath, Diana managed to move her legs over the edge of the bed. She paused for a moment to allow the dizziness that came with the pain to pass, the nausea that was roiling in her stomach. She carefully placed one foot on the floor as she grabbed the IV pole for further support, more than determined to escape her bed. She watched as Bruce typed on his laptop, punching keys with a sneer on his lips. She wanted to go to him, to remind him that none of this was his fault.

Standing on one foot, Diana bit her bottom lip as she tried to swallow back the pain that seized every inch of her body. “Bruce, you couldn’t have known what was going on.”

“I should have,” he bit out as he sent a detailed email to Lucius to find out more about what this company was doing and how they had missed this particular material’s production.

Bruce looked up sharply as Diana sucked in a breath, stunned to find her standing before him, balancing on one foot and holding onto her IV pole. He swiftly slammed his laptop closed, setting it aside on his bed before leaping to his feet.

“What in hell do you think you’re doing?”

It was Diana’s turn to frown as she stared at him. “I was coming to sit beside you,” she confessed, averting her eyes in unexpected embarrassment. “You were upset. I want to help you.”

Bruce felt a small measure of his anger dissipate with her explanation, the rest of him still burning but from a fire of a very different kind as he stared into her eyes full of concern for him. She was always so worried about everyone else regardless of her own situation or suffering.

He leaned down, scooping her up into his arms and carrying her back to her bed; ignoring his own pain. “You need to stay in bed, Princess.”

“Bruce Wayne, put me down,” she demanded. “I’m not an invalid.”

He gritted his teeth against the sharp pain that lanced through his shoulder as he gently laid her down in her bed, being careful of her countless injuries. “You were blown up, Diana,” he barked, adjusting the pillow under her casted leg and growling to himself with the red hearts Wally had drawn all over it. “I was only knocked to the ground by a hundred and thirty pound, obstinate Amazon who refuses to worry about her own wellbeing.”

Diana glared haughtily at him as he pulled her covers back over her. “I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I’m not going to stop trying to save your life so the sooner you accept it, the sooner you can let go of your stupid guilt and ego.”

“I don’t need you risking your life for me.” His anger was more than palpable as he turned his back to her, swallowing back the wave of pain-induced nausea that churned inside of him.

“Is it because I’m a woman?” she demanded to know.

He spun around as his head snapped up, stunned by her question. Couldn’t she see that it was because it was _her_ that he couldn’t deal with all of this? “No, of course not,” he retorted. “It has nothing do to with that and you know it.”

Hawkgirl walked into the observation room where J’onn was working feverishly to figure out what his friends had been exposed to while trying to ignore the thick tension that was storming through the isolation room at that moment between his two patients. 

“How are they doing?” Shayera asked, setting down a vase of flowers she’d brought in with her.

“Arguing again at the moment,” he replied without missing a keystroke.

“Have they been arguing ever since they woke?”

“Off and on,” J’onn matter-of-factly informed her. “Diana is mad at him because he’s being difficult and Bruce is mad at her for saving his life.”

Shayera folded her arms against her chest as she watched the pair fuming from their respective beds, refusing to even look at each other now. “I can feel the heat from their sexual tension from here. I swear they’re going to burn down the Watchtower if they don’t just have sex and get on with it. It’s painfully obvious they’re madly in love with each other.”

“Everyone knows it but them,” J’onn agreed as he continued to work. “I must admit Bruce is struggling mightily with it right now. His emotions are so strong I can’t help but feel it which is very unusual for him. I usually can’t sense much of anything from him because of the tight control he exerts over them. I’m hoping this situation might force him to finally admit his feelings for her.”

“Well, if being locked in isolation with her doesn’t do it then maybe this will help things along,” she said with a grin, her finger reaching for the intercom button. “Hey, Diana, I’ve got two dozen red roses here with your name on it.”

Diana looked up in surprise, spotting the red roses through the observation glass. Bruce looked up sharply as well, his eyes burning with sudden jealousy. “Who are they from?” Diana asked, her curiosity piqued.

“A certain handsome Agent Faraday,” Shay informed her, pleased when she saw Bruce’s reaction. It was a wonder his laptop could withstand the sheer force his tight grip was exerting on it at that moment or the fire that was glazing in his blue eyes.

“Want me to read the note for you?” Shayera asked her.

The smile returned to Diana’s face, practically illuminating the whole isolation room. “Sure, go ahead.”

Diana’s smile didn’t go unnoticed by Bruce who was grinding his teeth nearly hard enough to shatter them. He wanted to be the reason for that smile, not some other man and especially not Agent King Faraday.

“Hope you feel better soon,” Shayera began to read. “Would love to take you out for dinner as soon as you’re feeling up to it. Love, King.”

Diana could feel herself flush with Bruce’s heated gazed directed at her. She could practically feel his questions bombarding her through his glare, but chose to ignore it. “That was so sweet of him. I’ll have to call and thank him.”

“When he dropped the flowers off, he asked if he could come up to see you, but Superman told him he couldn’t because of isolation restrictions and, of course, to protect Batman’s identity. He was really disappointed that he couldn’t see you for himself.”

Diana heard Bruce get out of his bed and head towards the bathroom, slamming the door loudly behind him. She tried not to grin too much as she heard the shower suddenly start, but it was next to impossible with how jealous Bruce had just gotten. 

It was something that she had wanted to see in him for so long, some sort of emotion that showed that he actually cared about her, but not like this. She didn’t want to make him jealous. She just wanted him to show that he felt something for her besides frustration and anger all the time. 

“Shay, are those flowers really from King Faraday?”

“Yes, he heard what happened to you and came up here right away to check on you,” Shayera confirmed with a sly smirk. “Everything in that note was true too except for the love part. He actually just signed it ‘King’.”

Diana shook her head in amusement. “Shayera, you are so terrible.”

Hawkgirl shrugged her shoulders as J’onn tried his best not to smile. “Hey, it’s not my fault he can’t control his jealousy. Tell him to get a backbone and make up his damn mind about you already.”

“Shay, you know it’s not that easy for him,” Diana reminded him. “He has trouble letting people in and his feelings out.”

“And you are making excuses for him,” Hawkgirl pointed out. “He’s a grown man, Di. It’s time for him to act like it.” Shayera noticed the sadness that unexpectedly seeped into Diana’s face with her words, knew how hard this must be for her to be near him like this. “Hey, I’ll be back to check on you later. I’d love to come in there to see you, but J’onn hasn’t made me a hazmat suit that will accommodate my wings.”

Diana smiled softly, doing her best to hide the painful ache that filled her chest. “It’s alright. I’m sure we’ll be out of here soon.”

Shayera could feel Diana’s frustration from where she stood behind the observation glass, her heart hurting for her friend. She tried to hide her worry, but was finding it difficult. Diana looked so beaten up and battered. On top of that, she was infected with a possibly deadly contagion that they had no idea how to even begin to cure.

Could things possibly get any worse for them?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_**Nubian Desert, June 18th, 18:07 EET** _

Superman landed next to Green Lantern at the north end of the compound…or what was left of the north side of the compound. The Man of Steel released a long slow breath as he scanned the area, completely taken aback by what he saw. 

“How in the name of all that is good and holy did they manage to survive this?”

“I can’t even begin to tell you,” Green Lantern admitted, his hands settling on his hips as he looked around as well. “I still can’t believe it and I saw it firsthand.”

“If it weren’t for Diana, Batman would have been dead for sure,” Clark muttered more to himself than his teammate as he thought about how badly this could have turned out…how badly it still might end if they didn’t find the answers they needed. “So the lab was obviously in this area if all of this broken equipment is any indication.”

“That’s what I assumed too,” Lantern agreed as he turned to look around him at the debris and mangled equipment before turning and pointing. “Flash and I came in from that direction. That’s where we found the computer monitoring room.”

“And that’s where you two were attacked by the four men in black, right?”

“Yah, but when we questioned one of them, he took a cyanide pill and killed himself right in front of us,” John answered him, his lips thinning into a grim line with the memory. “I tried to save him, but it was too late.”

Superman put his hand on Lantern’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. “It was cyanide, John. There was nothing you could have done at that point to keep it from happening.”

John silently nodded before continuing to recount what had happened. “After Flash got Wonder Woman and Batman transported up to the ‘Tower, he went back for the other three men to bring them in for questioning, but they were all gone including the dead guy. Not a sign of them anywhere or the weapons they had been carrying.”

“Were you able to get anything from the computer system?”

Green Lantern shook his head as he thought back on it. “No, the computer system was protected by an advanced system that I couldn’t even begin to crack. The computer screen had a strange symbol on it too, one that I had never seen before. It was soon after that that we heard the explosion.”

“Let’s see if we can find any more clues around here and then we’ll head to the computer room you and Flash were in,” Superman suggested. “Maybe together we can come up with something that will tell us who is behind all of this.”

“Be careful,” Lantern warned. “There’s no telling if there are any more booby traps hidden around here. That’s all we need is for all of our heavy hitters to be in isolation.”

John’s eyes narrowed as he studied the scene before him. Superman noticed the abrupt change in his expression as well as his tense posture. “What is it? Do you notice something?”

“Somebody has definitely been here since the explosion,” John informed him. “Things have been overturned…moved out of the way.”

“You mean more so than it was after the initial explosion? Like someone was searching for something?”

“Yah,” John confirmed with a nod of his head. “Like someone was looking for that USB drive that Flash found.”

“Well, let’s see what else we can find,” Superman decided as he began to make his way through the chaos that surrounded them. It churned his stomach seeing what his friends had endured. “They may have already taken viable information, but hopefully they missed something that could help Batman and Wonder Woman.”

“There is something very hinky about all of this,” John confessed with a scowl. He could feel the fine hairs rising on the back of his neck as he looked around.

“Now you’re starting to sound just like Flash,” Clark commented with a small smile that was more uneasy than truly amused.

John snorted. “Don’t even say that in jest.”

Superman began scanning the area with his x-ray vision, sweeping across debris in hopes of finding something that could help cure their friends of this virus. “Are you just worried about Batman and Diana or is it something more than that?”

John thought for a long moment before answering the Man of Steel, the grim expression on the Lantern’s face doing nothing to lessen Clark’s own worry. “When I was in the Marines, I saw some very well organized operations. I was even a part of quite a few of them. Whatever was going on here definitely surpassed anything I’ve ever seen before. The technology and security was advanced and well-planned. This was not just one of our typical, run-of-the-mill villains that we usually deal with.”

A cold chill slithered up Clark’s spine, stopping him dead in his tracks as he glanced back at the ex-Marine. “You’re not making me feel any better about any of this, John.”

“Well, you asked,” John remarked with a shrug of a shoulder as he used his ring to move large chunks of steel and concrete out of his path. “I think Batman is right about this being our worst nightmare. It’s only a matter of time before whatever they were manufacturing here is let loose on the world.”

“And again, you’re still not making me feel any better about this.”

“Just preparing you for the worst case scenario,” John replied, glancing up to see the very real fear flashing through the Kryptonian’s eyes. “I could be wrong, though. Bats and Diana aren’t even showing any symptoms of being sick yet. Maybe it isn’t as bad we think.”

“It’s only been thirty-six hours, though,” Clark said. “J’onn has been working day and night and hasn’t been able to breakdown the sample yet. Not even the scientists that Batman called up to the Watchtower have been able to figure out what they were exposed to or begin to predict how it will affect them.”

“Whatever it is we need to be prepared for absolutely anything,” John grimly stated.

_**Watchtower Isolation, 12:36 EST** _

Bruce came out of the shower dressed in a black t-shirt and work out shorts, drying his hair with a towel and doing his best to forget that King Faraday had sent Diana roses. The idea of him dating her made his blood boil. He knew he wasn’t good enough for her, but King Faraday definitely didn’t deserve her.

He came to an abrupt stop, nearly faltering in his steps as his eyes fell on the Amazon princess he was being forced to share all his time with now. It was very much against his will, but his body was not in agreement at all. In fact, it was downright rebelling against him and he hated it.

Diana was sitting propped up in bed dressed getting washed up. Because of her casted right leg and wounds on her back, she had been relegated to sponge baths much to Bruce’s dismay at that particular moment. 

The privacy curtain had been drawn around her bed, but it hadn’t been pulled completely closed. Her ebony curls had been pulled up and away from her face into a messy ponytail allowing him a view of her slender neck, her expression one of tranquility except for the periodic winces of pain that rose to the surface when she moved a certain way.

His blood was beginning to pound in his ears as she continued to wash her way up from her calf to her thigh, his body aching with desire to do that for her…to help her and take care of her. He found his legs moving of their own accord towards her bed, pausing long enough to toss his wet towel on his bed along the way.

He internally cringed as Diana attempted to wash her back around the bandages only to suck in a sharp breath with the pain the movement caused. A scowl of frustration quickly formed on her face replacing the serenity that had just been there. She cursed softly under her breath in annoyance with not being able to do it herself, causing Bruce’s lips to curl slightly in amusement as he watched her. They appeared to be such polar opposites, but in reality they were identical in so many ways it was frightening. 

They just seemed to fit together so perfectly…so seamlessly.

Diana looked up to find Bruce standing there just inside the curtain that had been pulled to give her some semblance of privacy, but being quarantined with someone seemed to eliminate that right. Of course, not that she cared about privacy since she was isolated with Bruce. 

She met his intent gaze, the look on his face making her feel vulnerable…exposed as if he was staring deep inside of her and touching her soul. At the same time, she felt she could see inside of him as well, past all the barriers and walls that he had built to protect himself from feeling more than he wanted to.

Without a word, he moved closer, sitting down on the edge of the bed and taking the washcloth from her hand. “Let me help you, Princess,” he told her.

She allowed him to take the washcloth, trying not to let him see how she was trembling on the inside. His fingers gently wrapped around her arm, helping her to turn away from him so he could wash the few places on her neck and back that weren’t covered in bandages.

Diana tilted her head down; pulling her ponytail over her left shoulder as Bruce carefully pushed her gown off her shoulders and giving him more room to work. She sighed softly with the feel of the warm washcloth against her skin, his touch so gentle it nearly brought tears to her eyes as she struggled to control her racing heart and failing miserably.

The little hitch in her breath as he began to wash her back was nearly his undoing. He swallowed the urge to lean in and kiss the back of her neck. The sight of the numerous bandages on her back pulled him back to reality as well as the fact that she was here because of him. Still, the yearning lay in his chest like a heavy, painful knot that refused to leave, making it difficult to breathe.

Longing vied with guilt as he ran the cloth over her skin that was bruised in varying shades of blues and purples. He wanted to take away her pain, the bruises and wounds that she had received as a reward for protecting him. The most amazing thing that had ever entered into his life had been hurt because of him. How could he ever begin to reconcile that in his heart and mind?

Dipping the washcloth in the warm water again, he wrung it out before washing the back of her neck, moving it across her right shoulder. He felt a rush of contentment with taking care of her like this, not taking it for granted that she had accepted his help. It was just as hard for her to accept help as it was for him.

Diana was afraid to move; afraid to breathe for fear that he would stop and pull away from her again, escaping back into that dark emotionless void that he locked himself away in to avoid having to deal with feelings that he’d rather ignore than face. 

Bruce struggled with his self-control, the war being waged within him growing more intense the longer he was isolated here with her. Desire versus logic. Heart versus mind. Passion versus his mission. Bruce versus the Bat. 

In the end, he knew that the Bat had to win. There was no other realistic outcome than that.

_“Bruce, I have something.”_

J’onn’s voice cut through the thick fog of longing that had seized him, forcing him back to reality. Bruce released a strangled breath, his mind and body caught in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions he didn’t know how to even begin to deal with.

 _“I’m done helping Diana,”_ Bruce silently told him, making sure his mental walls were firmly in place. He didn’t need J’onn urging him to talk to Diana about feelings that he never should have allowed to take root in the first place. He’d already made things far worse by helping her like this now.

Diana felt him freeze behind her, unsure of what had just happened. She heard him murmur that he was sorry as closed her gown, tying it securely. She wasn’t exactly certain what he was apologizing for, but knew he was only going to try to pull further away from her.

“Bruce?”

He was already moving away from her, pulling the privacy curtain back and out of the way as J’onn entered isolation in his hazmat suit. Diana turned around with a grimace, instantly regretting the movement. Bruce turned back at the sound of her stifled cry, but she waved him off as she eased back against the pillows again. She didn’t want to be coddled.

Diana noticed how Bruce’s whole demeanor had changed now. The Bat was completely in control once more, Bruce Wayne tucked safely behind the thick walls he had built up over the years to protect himself as well as his traumatized heart.

“What did you find?” Bruce questioned the Martian, his face an emotionless mask despite how hard his heart was still hammering. “Can I leave now? I need to get out of here and back to Gotham.”

“I’m afraid you cannot leave, Bruce,” J’onn informed him. “Since we were unable to fully break down all the components of the agent the two of you were exposed to, I decided to have Zatanna take a look at it to see what she could make of it. I wanted to make sure there wasn’t a magical component to this.”

Bruce felt his stomach already dropping as his apprehension rose. “What did she find?”

“I’m afraid that the contagion is laced with some sort of alien component,” J’onn revealed, his tone grim. “No one will be able to escape this contagion if it is unleashed on the world, not even a meta.”

Bruce immediately looked back at Diana lying in her bed, her gaze locked on him. Sick dread began to swim in the pit of his stomach. Even with her gods-given gifts, she wasn’t going to be immune to the effects of the bioterrorism agent. She wasn’t going to escape what was about to come.

“But Diana is technically a magical being,” Bruce ground out. “She should be immune to it.”

“I’m afraid not,” J’onn said with a shake of his head. “This appears to have been designed to target magical beings as well as metas. It is no respecter of person—good or evil, mortal or immortal, meta or human.”

“Is Zatanna able to reverse the effects of the contagion?” Bruce asked.

“She’s working on it, but we don’t know how this will affect either of you until you begin to display symptoms.”

“It’s been thirty-six hours since the bomb exploded and we’re perfectly fine,” Diana pointed out, Bruce shooting her a disapproving glare over his shoulder. “Well, we’re fine for the most part…you more than me. Happy, Bruce?”

“So far, it appears to have an incubation period, allowing you to come into contact with more people before it actually manifests itself,” J’onn replied. “I’m afraid it won’t be long now before you start feeling the effects of the virus.”

Bruce was on the verge of pounding someone or something with the helpless fear that suddenly gripped him. “Let me know as soon as you find something. I don’t care how inconsequential it might seem, J’onn. I want to know about it right away.”

“I am sorry, my friends,” J’onn softly said, feeling as though he was failing them. “I promise we won’t stop until we find a cure for this. In the meantime, let me know immediately if you begin experiencing any symptoms.”

Bruce could only nod his head as his mind began to race with how dire things could become. Someone had gone to great lengths to make certain this contagion could not be easily stopped or contained. It was a very well-designed bioterrorism agent, one that almost seemed far too complex for someone like Poison Ivy to create on her own.

He silently returned to his bed and his waiting laptop, hoping that the analysis of those spores that Tim had found was done. He didn’t look at Diana, couldn’t bring himself to meet her probing gaze or to answer the questions that was certainly lingering in her mind right now.

Emotionally, he couldn’t be what she needed him to be, couldn’t begin to let go of the darkness and rage and hostility that lived inside of him that gave life to the Batman. Losing that anger for her meant losing the Batman and he couldn’t do that. He had to let her go.

It was like a knife’s blade had just pierced his heart thinking of her with another man, but he’d have to learn to live with the pain. He’d had more than enough practice with it over the years. If he’d learned anything in the last thirty years, it was that life was far from fair, filled with nothing but heartache and pain.

“Bruce,” Diana softly called to him. He instantly tensed with apprehension, knowing she was going to force him down a road he couldn’t go with her. “Look at me.”

Releasing an exasperated sigh, Bruce forced himself to look at her, giving her his best icy expression in hopes of deterring her from talking about them. The love and understanding he found permeating her blue eyes was startling, stealing his breath and melting away a measure of his detached façade.

“It’ll be alright, Bruce,” she reassured him, giving him a warm smile that illuminated even the darkest recesses of his soul. “We’ll find a way to get through this. If anyone can figure it out, it’s you. It’s always you.”

Her smile as well as her absolute faith in him nearly made his heart burst, instilling him with a renewed sense of purpose to stop this madness before she could be taken from this world. She made him want to be a better person, to be what she seemed to believe he could be, but just couldn’t see in himself.

Bruce slowly nodded his head, his voice barely above a whisper. “Thank you, Princess.”

“And thank you for helping me with my bath,” she told him.

Bruce couldn’t help but give her a small smile in response. “Any time,” he muttered.

“I’d be happy to repay the favor if you need me too,” she lightly teased in an effort to break through the surly, brooding mood that was quickly enveloping him.

He couldn’t help but smirk with her offer or the mischief he found gleaming in her bright blue eyes. “I think I can handle it, but I’ll keep your offer in mind.”

He turned his attention back to his laptop and away from her, but it was difficult when he could still feel her eyes on him, the warmth of her smile against his skin. He wanted more, but he knew he couldn’t have what he wanted and she was what he wanted most in this life above all else.

That was the ultimate driving force that pushed him now because if she wasn’t here in this world, then he had no desire to be a part of it. Saving her life was all that mattered now.

_**Watchtower Infirmary, June 19th, 01:18 EST** _

Bruce’s eyes narrowed as he glared at his computer screen. He had been studying all of the information they’d been able to gather so far, coming up with nothing but dead ends. It was creating more questions than answers and it was driving him crazy as he struggled to work through all of the pieces in his mind.

John and Clark had found very little when they had returned to the compound in the Nubian Desert. Any important information that had been there at one time had been quickly removed right after the explosion. The computers were all gone as well as the boxes of gas masks and those clothes that he’d found. There was no telling what else had been there that they hadn’t had a chance to check out yet.

While he couldn’t rule out Poison Ivy’s involvement in this, he also couldn’t ignore the fact that they could be dealing with an all new threat that they’d never encountered before. He still couldn’t help feeling as though this was somewhat familiar to him in some ways.

There was a niggling in the back of his mind that kept bothering him, telling him that he was missing something. The harder he tried to focus on that annoying feeling that refused to leave, the more elusive that it seemed to become, skirting away just beyond his grasp.

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose; fighting back the headache was beginning to settle behind his eyes. He needed to get to the bottom of this and soon, but he couldn’t do much being locked up in isolation. He needed to be out there scouring Gotham for Ivy, returning to the compound to find what Superman and Green Lantern had missed.

While their intentions were good, they didn’t possess the investigational skills and knowledge that he had gained over the years. He wanted to comb over the facility himself, knowing that it still might reveal a possible clue that could end up helping them and stop this bioterrorism agent from being released.

Deciding he needed to switch gears for a few minutes, Bruce clicked on his emails. He needed to check in with Lucius to see how things were going at Wayne Enterprises. He didn’t like being away from his company either. In fact, he didn’t know how much longer he was going to be able to handle being cooped up in here like this and it wasn’t all because it kept him from his responsibilities.

He glanced over at Diana sleeping on her left side facing him, her hand resting on the pillow near her cheek. She looked so beautiful even in the midst of slumber. He found himself longing to kiss her, to climb into that bed with her and hold her close.

Cutting off ties with her was going to break her heart, but it was better than her losing her life because of him. 

As Bruce began to type a response to Lucius’s email, an instant message popped up. 

Alfred: _Why are you still awake?_

Bruce softly snorted in amusement, a small smile curling the very corners of his mouth. 

Bruce: _How did you know I was awake?_

Alfred: _Really? Who did you learn most of your detective skills from? Why aren’t you resting?_

Bruce: _Too much work to do._

Alfred: _And?_

Bruce sighed, knowing that Alfred would see through his response. Alfred always knew. 

Bruce: _Lot on my mind._

Alfred: _Would it have anything to do with the princess you are currently quarantined with?_

Bruce stared at the screen for several long moments; Alfred’s typed words searing themselves into his mind as if attempting to burn away the thick fog of doubt and uncertainty that continued to plague him despite his decision to cut Diana out of his life once this was over.

Bruce: _No, I’ve already made up my mind. I’m resigning from the League and distancing myself from Diana when this is over._

Bruce waited for the disapproving response that he knew was coming, the plea to give a relationship with Diana a try. He knew that Alfred wanted him to have some semblance of a normal life, one filled with happiness and Diana.

Alfred: _I’m sure you’re making the right decision, Master Bruce._

That was not at all the response that he had been expecting from Alfred. 

Bruce: _Excuse me?_

Alfred: _I’m sure you’re making the right decision. It probably would never work between the two of you anyway._

Bruce’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as he reread the words a couple more times before responding, his mind racing with questions now as he typed out his question.

Bruce: _Why wouldn’t it work with her?_

Alfred: _You’re too broken, you’re mission would come between you, she’s immortal, you’re a rich kid with issues, she could never begin to understand you or the double life you lead, she’s a teammate, she could get hurt if the Joker found out about her, your darkness would corrupt her. Shall I go on?_

Bruce felt his chest tightening with every single word that appeared on his computer screen, each reason it would never work having already been drilled into his head by only one person so far—himself. To see them typed out across the screen felt like another nail being hammered into the casket that he was banishing his heart to.

Bruce: _You’re using reverse psychology on me, aren’t you?_

Alfred: _Why would I ever need to do that with you? You’re a genius, Master Bruce. Sleep well._

Bruce: _Sleep well, Alfred._

He sat there staring at his laptop for several minutes, considering what Alfred had just said. He knew that Alfred believed that he was making the wrong decision, but it was what he had to do to protect her from himself. He cared about her too much to allow her to suffer anymore because of him.

“Bruce?”

The sound of his name being murmured by her in her sleep drew him from his tormented reverie. He turned towards her to find her pushing her covers off her, thrashing in her sleep. Sweat glistened on her brow, her head rolling from side to side.

“Bruce…no…please, no!” Diana cried out in her sleep. She gripped at her sheets; her eyes clenched shut against the nightmare that had besieged her. “No…Bruce!”

Bruce got up and went to her, settling on the side of the bed beside her. “Diana, wake up,” he said as her fists came up at him. He swiftly captured her wrists, doing his best to hold them back. “Diana, it’s me. I’m right here.”

Diana’s eyes flew open, fear permeating her eyes. “Bruce?” she gasped, her vision focusing on the sight of him leaning over her.

She struggled to catch her breath as Bruce released his grip on her, sitting back and allowing her to sit up. He grabbed the pitcher from her bedside table and poured her a glass of water before handing it to her. She thankfully took the cup, drinking it all down before relaxing back against the pillows. She closed her eyes, unwilling to meet his probing gaze that was focused solely on her. She didn’t want his pity or his concern. She only wanted his heart, though he didn’t seem ready to give it away.

Studying her, Bruce could see that she was fighting back tears, but was obviously embarrassed by him witnessing it. She hated to show vulnerability as much as he did. “Diana, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she murmured, keeping her eyes closed.

“What were you dreaming about?” he pressed.

“It was nothing…just a bad dream,” she tried to tell him, her eyes finally opening to meet his.

The tears shining in her eyes told him it was far from nothing. “Talk to me, Princess.”

Diana released a long breath, wrestling to rein-in her emotions that were still storming inside of her. “It was just a nightmare, Bruce.”

“You kept calling my name,” he told her. “What happened?”

“We were back in the compound just before the bomb went off,” she confessed, averting her eyes. “I…I couldn’t get to you in time. I couldn’t stop it from happening…and you died.”

“We’re both alive because of you, Diana,” he reminded her. “If it weren’t for you, I would’ve died. You saved my life.”

As he gazed into her eyes, Bruce knew in that instant that he would never get over letting her go. Cutting her out of his life was tantamount to suicide. He would be nothing but an empty shell of what he had once been without her in his world and yet he knew he had to do it.

Diana nodded her head in response, feeling a sense of awkwardness between them. It had been hanging in the air between them ever since he had helped with her bath and only growing in intensity. She knew that he had to feel it too. How could he not? It was nearly stifling.

She wanted to feel his arms wrapping around her and holding her against him, to hear his heart beating so strong beneath her ear. She needed to feel his breath warm against her face, his skin pressed against hers.

She knew that despite how badly she wanted him, she couldn’t push him right now. She could tell that he was still struggling to reconcile everything that had happened recently, trying to analyze it and make his feelings fit into a neat logical box, but love was anything but logical.

“Why are you still awake?” she finally asked, breaking the awkward tension that had become a third wheel in the midst of their unusual circumstances.

Bruce seemed to relax minutely with the change in conversation, taking a measure in comfort in the fact that they weren’t going to talk about their relationship or whatever it was that existed between them. “I was trying to crack the encryption coding on the USB drive that Flash found.”

“Is there something I can do to help?” she asked. “I know I’m not a brilliant detective like you, but maybe I can do something. I don’t want to brag or anything, but I have been blessed by a certain goddess of wisdom you know.”

Bruce couldn’t suppress the crooked grin that formed on his lips. Why did she have to be so damn adorable? Not even his indomitable will could hope to survive against her irresistible charms. Just as he was about to respond with some flirty retort, he noticed how flushed her cheeks were.

“Are you feeling alright?” he asked, his eyes narrowing with concern.

“It’s a little warm in here, but that’s it,” she replied. “My back doesn’t hurt as much as it did before…and the cast is starting to itch. Other than that, I feel fine. Why do you ask?”

Bruce frowned as his hand came to rest against her flushed cheek, panic spiking. She was burning up, her skin hot to the touch. He moved his hand to her forehead for a moment before sliding his fingers back into her hair, finding it slightly damp with fever.

“Bruce, what is it?” The expression on his face was doing nothing to settler her growing worry.

 _“J’onn!”_ Bruce mentally barked at the Martian.

J’onn responded quickly, sensing his friend’s alarm and fear. _“What is it, Batman?”_

 _“It’s beginning,”_ he silently told him as he stared at the princess.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**_Cairo, Egypt, June 19th, 08:00 EET_ **

“It has been over forty-eight hours since their exposure. They should both begin to exhibit symptoms from the disease. The next three days will tell us just how well designed our contagion truly is.”

“I still don’t like this,” she interjected from her seat across the table, her arms folded tightly against her chest. “I think we need to halt production for now and lie low until we see how this affects Batman and the Amazon. There’s no sense risking getting caught.”

“No, we’ve come too far to shut down our other facilities,” he told her, his tone indicating that he would discuss this no further. “We will proceed as planned. I will not run and hide like some coward just because Batman found one of our compounds.”

She stood to her feet, the legs of her chair scraping loudly against the floor as it was pushed back, anger blazing in her eyes. “Batman has probably already decoded that USB drive by now. It is only a matter of time before he finds us and destroys everything we’ve worked for.”

“You seem to be forgetting where your loyalties should lie,” he icily stated, his dark gaze fixed on her. “You need to be clear about who you are siding with, my dear.”

“You know my loyalty is with you. It always has been,” she spat out, enraged that her devotion and dedication to the cause was being questioned like this especially in front of others. “You underestimate Batman and his abilities. He will figure out a way to cure this disease.”

“I _never_ underestimate Batman,” he roared, his fist slamming down hard on the table and causing it to shudder from the force of the blow. His chest was heaving with fury as he stood to his feet. “He’s the one who underestimates me, daughter. I will be the one who will eventually destroy him.”

“Yes, father,” she muttered. She angrily sunk into her seat, knowing that arguing with him was beyond futile. He was always right no matter what anyone said…even his own offspring. Nothing would or could ever change that.

“What is driving this overwhelming desire to deviate from the plan?” he demanded as he settled back into his seat at the head of the table. “You aren’t letting your heart cloud your mind again, are you?”

“No, father, I am thinking very clearly,” she retorted, her expression growing hard, her eyes ice cold. “Besides, it would appear from the video feed that Batman has moved on. He seems to have feelings for the Amazon now with how protective he appears to be of her.”

Bitter hatred oozed from every word she spat out, her entire body rigid with fury. She knew Batman well enough to know that he had fallen for his teammate. It was more than obvious in his body language, the way that he continually turned towards her to keep her in his sights. Even the harsh way he criticized her for not staying with him was an obvious indication of his true feelings for her. It was more than evident in her actions that Wonder Woman shared those same feelings.

“I know it is difficult, but until Batman comes to his senses, he will be our enemy,” he reminded her. “The sooner you accept that, the easier it will be for you.”

She silently nodded her head in response to her father, her mind taking her back to when Bruce used to love her, when he wanted to be with her and only her. She remembered the passionate heat behind his kisses, the way he looked at her or how he would whisper her name with such longing.

She swore to herself that it would be like that again someday soon.

She just prayed that her beloved would find a cure for himself before it was too late. While she hoped that the virus eliminated the Amazon, she couldn’t bear the thought of Bruce dying. If he did, though, then at least that Amazon wench wouldn’t be able to have him either. The thought of him kissing her, making love to that woman instead of her made her insides twist with such hatred it was nearly paralyzing.

As her father continued to drone on and on about the next phase of their plans, Talia became further lost in her own thoughts, dreaming up ways to make Wonder Woman suffer agonizingly for trying to take her beloved away from her. She did not understand the immense history that she and her beloved shared or the depths of their true feelings for one another. A love like that could never die.

A small smile began to curve her lips as a plan started to take shape in her mind, one that would ensure her future with her beloved and the end of the Amazon princess forever. That was, of course, as long as the contagion didn’t kill her first.

**_Watchtower Cafeteria, June 19th, 08:37 EST_ **

Hawkgirl did her best to stifle the yawn that rose to her lips, but failed miserably as her hand quickly moved to cover her mouth. Both hands had a tight grip on her steaming cup of hot coffee as she sat alone at one of the tables, fighting to stay awake.

Her head was pounding as conversations all around her swelled, ebbing and flowing, cresting and falling in volume and excitement. She wanted everyone to just be quiet for a little while. Unfortunately, the peace and quiet that she was yearning for came to a screeching halt when Flash abruptly appeared before her on the other side of the table.

“Morning, Shay!” he cheerfully greeted her, pulling out a chair and settling down without invitation with a tray loaded with food. Everything from cereal to toast, eggs to pancakes were stacked on his tray. “Whoa, you don’t look so hot. Something wrong?”

“I just pulled a double shift of monitor duty,” she grumbled, pausing to take a sip of her coffee before continuing. “I’d rather be in bed sleeping, but instead I am here trying to keep myself awake because Superman called a founders’ meeting at nine o’clock.”

“Do you what it’s about?” he asked between bites of breakfast.

“Probably to update us on Diana and Batman’s condition,” she wearily said, propping her chin up with her hand in an effort to stay awake.

“How did you get stuck pulling a double?”

“Diana’s shift plus mine equals a double,” she told him, her patience wearing thinner and thinner by the second.

“Why didn’t you just get someone else to take one of the shifts?”

“Too many teams got sent out last night,” she explained. “Not enough people to help cover. Besides, at the time, it didn’t seem so bad when I thought I was going to be able to go right to bed as soon as my shift ended at eight this morning.”

Flash looked sympathetic as he practically swallowed a piece of toast whole. “I’m sorry, Shay. Why don’t you go to bed and I’ll just tell Supes you couldn’t make it?”

“No,” she muttered as she shook her head. “If there’s been a change in Bats and Di, I want to hear about it firsthand.”

“Hey, sleepy head.”

Shay looked up at the familiar sound of her lover’s voice. Her eyes brightened somewhat despite the lack of sleep as she sat up a little straighter. “Morning.”

John slid into the seat directly beside her, flashing her a sexy grin. “I missed you last night. It got mighty cold and lonely in my quarters without you there.”

Flash immediately cleared his throat very loudly, causing both of them to look over at him. “Hello? Third party present,” he said with a wave of his hand at them. “Keep the bedroom talk to a bare minimum. I’ve got young ears, you know.”

Shayera harrumphed at his comment, giving him an eye roll. “Oh, please,” she groused. “This coming from the same man who wanted to take the CPR training dummy home with him so he could practice kissing.”

Flash only grinned in response before downing a large glass of orange juice in one swallow. “Hey, it was all PG. I named her Stephanie. Best date I’d had in a long time. Didn’t cost me a dime to feed her and, man, could she ever kiss.”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Shayera retorted, crinkling up her nose in absolute disgust.

“I think you need some serious help,” John decided. “Have you thought about talking to J’onn?”

“No…why?” Flash asked, confused.

“Never mind,” John mumbled, turning his attention to Shayera. “You know admitting there’s a problem is the first step. He doesn’t even know there is one.”

“He’s beyond help,” she agreed.

“Uh, guys,” Flash interrupted them. “I’m sitting right here in front of you.”

John just shook his head in amazement. “How could we forget?”

“Have you heard any more about Batman or Diana’s condition?” Shayera asked John.

“No, I went to check on them this morning, but all J’onn would say was that he would give a full update at the meeting this morning.”

“Man, I hope it’s not bad news,” Flash groaned. “It’ll so put a damper on my date with Linda tonight.”

Shayera shot him a heated glare, her fingers itching to reach for her mace. “You’re more worried about your date tonight than our friends?”

“What? No,” Flash claimed. “I took them a big bag full of games and stuff this morning to help make the time go by faster.”

“That was actually very thoughtful of you, but I can’t picture Batman sitting down to play a game of Monopoly,” John pointed out.

“No, but maybe Wondy can get him to play Twister,” Flash said with a wide grin, wiggling his eyebrows at them though neither could see it with his mask on.

All he received was disbelieving stares. “What? I had to try something to get those two together. My bet was that they’d be knocking boots by June 20th.”

An empty Styrofoam cup hit the speedster right between the eyes before dropping harmless onto his tray filled with empty dishes. “You are such a pig,” Shay said with a fierce scowl. “Can’t you be the least bit romantic?”

“I’m a romantic at heart!” Flash maintained. “I’m just not going to miss out on an opportunity to make a little cash on the side.”

“Betting on people’s love life is anything but romantic,” Shayera growled, standing up and leaning across the table with a heated glare.

John dipped his head, silently praying that Wally wouldn’t throw him under the bus by mentioning the money that he’d wagered on their two teammates. He already didn’t get any Shayera time last night with her double shift duty. If she found out about the bet he placed, he’d have a very cold bed for weeks.

Flash visibly gulped with the irate Thanagarian in his face. “You know we better get to that meeting,” he told her. “We don’t want to be late.”

Flash took off before either of them could utter a word, racing from the commissary. John took Shayera’s hand in his, squeezing it lovingly. “I know you’re worried, Shay. So am I. I’m sure Batman will figure out something soon. He always does.”

“I hope so,” she softly said, fighting back the unexpected surge of emotion that rose in her chest. “I just hope this finally brings them together. They both deserve to be happy.”

John pulled her into his arms, holding her close for a few moments before she gently extricated herself from his embrace. She wasn’t one for public displays of affection like this and neither was John, but the direness of the situation their friends now found themselves in was too enormous to ignore.

“We better go before we’re late,” she murmured as she turned to leave.

John fell into step beside her, casting a sidelong glance at his lover. “Are you free after the meeting?”

“Depends on what you have in mind,” she replied.

John flashed her a grin as they made their way to the founders’ conference room. “I have a lot on my mind…and it all involves you.”

“I like what I’m hearing so far,” Shayera decided. “If whatever you’re thinking includes a hot shower then I’m definitely game.”

“You’re on,” he readily agreed, pausing before the conference room doors to allow her to enter first. “You wash my back, I’ll wash yours.”

He loved to walk behind her, to admire the sexy sway of her hips as well as the graceful way her wings fluttered slightly with her every movement. “Focus, Lantern,” Shayera warned him, knowing what he was ogling.

She settled into her usual seat, John sitting down next to her. On her other side, Flash scooted his chair a little further away from her out of fear of what she still might do to him with that deadly mace of hers. She smiled to herself, knowing that a healthy dose of fear was a good thing to instill once in a while.

Her gaze fell on the two empty chairs across the table from her. They wouldn’t be coming to this founders’ meeting nor would they be attending any in the future if they didn’t find a way out of this mess soon.

She couldn’t help feeling lost with her friends locked away in isolation, wishing there was something she could do to help them, but feeling absolutely useless with this mission. Trying to create a cure for a virus that didn’t even have a name or known symptoms yet was so far beyond her scope of capabilities. She wanted to beat someone with her mace, pound information out of them. That was what she did best.

All three Leaguers looked up as Superman and J’onn strode into the room, their faces serious. The tension instantly became unbearable, their grim expressions doing absolutely nothing to lessen the trio’s fears at that moment. They watched in silence as Superman took his usual spot at the head of the table, J’onn at the other end.

Clark sat down in his chair, the heaviness that he carried more than evident in the slumped set of his shoulders, the fine lines around his eyes. He leaned forward, clasping his hands together as his forearms came to rest on top of the conference table.

“I’ve called this emergency meeting so we could update you on Bruce and Diana’s status,” Clark began, his voice and expression devoid of his usual jovial spirit.

“What’s happened?” Shayera demanded to know, wanting to cut to the chase. She was never one for beating around the bush.

Clark nodded towards J’onn, all eyes coming to rest on the Martian Manhunter. “I think I better let J’onn explain.”

“Last night, Diana came down with a very high fever,” he explained. “I have managed to get her fever down, but I fear that it is only a matter of time before it worsens.”

“Why is Wondy affected and not Bruce?” Flash asked, confused. “She’s a meta and Bruce is mortal.”

“Diana has been infected more severely because of the extent of her injuries,” J’onn grimly replied. “Because it is spread by both airborne and skin contact, she was more exposed to the agent than Batman was because his uniform protected him. Diana’s wounds allowed more of the contagion to get into her blood stream faster. I’m afraid it will only be a matter of time, though, before Batman will begin to develop symptoms as well.”

“Are you any closer to figuring out what we’re dealing with here?” Lantern asked, the gravity in his voice causing an eerie feeling to wash over Shayera.

She could tell that even though he hadn’t verbalized it, he feared that this could be bigger than even the Justice League could deal with. It caused her to internally shudder as thoughts of this contagion being unleashed on the world drifted through her mind.

If they weren’t able to save their friends, what hope did they have of saving the world?

“We’ve made a little progress in breaking down the contagion, but it has been a very arduous process.”

J’onn’s voice belied his worry about how worse things could quickly become. It also revealed his fatigue. He’d been working day and night since Diana and Bruce had been brought in two days ago, taking only short breaks to rest.

“If there’s anything that any of us can do to help, please let us know right away,” Superman told him. “In the meantime, we all are going to have to be extra vigilant and watch for anything suspicious or that might seem out of the ordinary. There’s no predicting how soon this bioterrorism agent will be released on the public.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll shut down the operation now that they know we were in the compound,” Flash offered.

John snorted in disagreement, his opinion on the notion clear as evidenced by the scowl on his face. “First, when have we ever been that lucky and, second, why would they go to such great lengths to manufacture a deadly virus just to stop now?”

“They’re not going to shut it down just because we know about it now,” Shayera objected as well. “If anything, they’ll probably move up the release date.”

“I’m with Shayera,” Superman agreed. “I think that they’ll be more likely to move up their timetable in order to get their weapon out there as soon as possible before we can find them and shut it down.”

“Let’s just hope we can catch a break before that happens,” John said.

**_Watchtower Infirmary, 09:11 EST_ **

Diana pursed her lips as she rummaged through the large bag that Flash had dropped off this morning for them. She had the bag on the bed beside her, removing one item at a time and inspecting them carefully. Some things looked familiar to her while other games she’d never even heard of.

What in the name of Hera was Jenga?

Setting it aside, she pulled out a set of Go Fish cards, chuckling softly at the childlike picture on the box of cards. Leave it to Flash to throw in a children’s game. She removed a couple of crossword puzzle books, a word search book, and a chess game all the while ignoring the way that Bruce was staring at her.

She had felt Bruce’s eyes on her every single move for the last fifteen minutes or so. She hadn’t pushed the issue of them, giving him the time he needed to figure things out in his own time…at least for now. It would not, however, remain that way for too much longer.

“It would last longer if you painted a portrait of me,” she suddenly told him without looking up as she flipped through a sports car magazine of some sort that contained pictures of scantily clad women lying on the cars.

“It’s ‘take a picture’ and I’m not staring at you,” he grumbled in annoyance at having been caught, his attention shifting back to his laptop once more.

“Whatever you say,” she muttered with growing exasperation. “I can feel you watching my every move since the minute I woke up this morning. I’m not fragile, Bruce. I’m not going to just burst into flames.”

Bruce typed furiously, a stern expression etched on his face. “You had a one-hundred and nine degree fever last night, Princess. That would have fried a normal person’s brain.”

He knew that his tone was harsher than it should’ve been, but she’d scared the hell out of him last night when J’onn had told him how high her fever had gotten. It also hadn’t helped any that J’onn had had such a difficult time trying to get her fever down. It did not bode well for the future if her temperature rose again.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not ordinary then,” Diana remarked, looking at a Batman puzzle, holding it up to show her roommate. “This looks nothing like you.”

“You are definitely not ordinary,” he mumbled under his breath, frowning at the puzzle of himself. Everything about Diana was extraordinary, unlike anyone he’d ever met before. And he wanted her like nothing else that he’d ever wanted in his entire life before. It was almost all-consuming. “You’re being far too lackadaisical about all of this.”

“No, I’m being practical,” she claimed, pulling out a game. “What is Scrabble?”

“It’s word game,” he told her, his frustration with her mounting. “And how in the world are you being practical, Princess?”

Setting the game aside on the bed with the pile of other things Flash had brought them, Diana gingerly maneuvered her legs over the side, wincing with the pain that lanced through her body with the movement, her hands coming to rest on the edge of the bed on either side of her. 

“Bruce, I’m not just being practical, but also logical,” she reassured him. “Do I want out of here so we can find whoever created this virus? Yes, more than you can imagine. However, we can’t leave the infirmary to search for whoever is behind this nor do we have any idea what kind of deadly virus we’re up against. We are going to have to rely on our friends now to help us get to the bottom of this and hopefully create some sort of antidote.

“At this point, we can change nothing about our circumstances so the way that I see it, the only thing we can do is make the best of it. Now, you can either brood and burn a hole through your laptop with that glare or you can teach me how to play this Scrabble game.”

Bruce stared at her as he weighed her words, finding absolutely nothing wrong with her rational thinking; though he was loathe to admit it. He still felt there had to be something that he could do to help things along.

“There is still a lot I can do from here,” he maintained.

“I’m sure you can, but you also need to take a break,” she pointed out. “You know you can’t do anything more until your laptop finishes breaking that encryption on the USB drive so teach me how to play Scrabble.”

“I need to work on tracking down whoever is behind this virus before we’re both dead,” he argued.

“And how exactly do you plan on doing that from your isolation bed?” she asked, holding up the Scrabble box and giving him her best dazzling smile. “Besides, wouldn’t you rather try to beat me at a game I have no idea how to play?”

Bruce released an annoyed sigh, knowing this was an argument he wasn’t going to win. Besides, how could anyone possibly resist that face? “Fine,” he grumbled, “but only for a few minutes. I’m waiting on a response from Nightwing. I can’t do anymore until I hear from him anyway.”

Diana began to open the box, removing the pieces. “About Poison Ivy?”

Moving the bedside table between them to put the game board on, Bruce looked up sharply at her. “How did you know about Poison Ivy’s possible involvement in this?”

“Well, she’s the most logical choice since she is an eco-terrorist and has always wanted to purify the world for her plants,” she replied, shrugging her shoulder as she unfolded the directions for the game. “The best way to do that is wipeout the human population.”

Bruce’s blue-eyed gazed narrowed suspiciously at the Amazon sitting on the edge of her bed across from him. “Have you been getting on my laptop while I’ve been in the shower?”

Diana chuckled softly, shaking her head. “No, Bruce,” she reassured him. “Just thinking like you would about this.”

Taking the instruction sheet from Diana, he crumpled it up and threw it in the wastebasket several feet away. “We don’t need those,” he told her as he began to turn the tiles over in order to hide the letters. “Who else do you think could be behind this?”

“I doubt that Ivy could pull off a global elimination by herself so she probably has someone working with her,” she continued to deduce for him, helping him turn over the remaining tiles. “Besides that, she’s mostly consumed with Gotham so it might not be her at all.”

Bruce didn’t want to admit it, but he was very impressed with the princess and her reasoning skills. She would make a very good detective herself, but only if she were to be trained by him of course. “Any other thoughts?”

“Yes, why the Nubian Desert?” she asked as she looked up at him. “Of all the places in the world to set up a facility as advanced as that, why construct one in the middle of a desert in Northern Africa? There are thousands of other places that could have worked far better and would have remained just as hidden. There must be a tie-in to Cairo or something in Egypt which also points to someone other than Poison Ivy.”

He could no longer hide his amazement, his jaw now hanging slack as he stared at her. She tucked a raven lock behind her ear that had fallen out of her ponytail as she finished turning over the tiles, not even noticing his astonished expression…or so it had seemed.

“Take a picture, Bruce,” she lightly teased him as she finally looked up at him with a smug grin.

This whole time he thought that she hadn’t been thinking about this case at all when in reality she had been breaking it down and reassembling it all along. “And just when were you going to share your conclusions with me?” 

“If you ever got around to asking me,” she simply stated. “I figured if I came to those conclusions than the Great Detective had more than likely as well. You didn’t need me to tell you what you had probably already figured out on your own. Okay, what do we do now?”

Bruce could only stare at her in absolute wonderment. Every time he thought for certain that he had her figured out, she somehow managed to throw him for a loop that always left him even more impressed with her than he had been before.

“Are you sure you feel up to this?” he asked, noticing the pink tint of her cheeks.

“I’m fine,” she insisted, rolling her eyes in annoyance. “What do we do with these little tiles?”

“Without looking at them, you pick seven tiles and line them up on the tile holder in front of you,” he instructed her. After lining up his tiles, he looked up to find that she had lined her seven tiles up—all facing him, not her. “No, facing you, Princess, not me.”

“You told me I couldn’t look at them,” she complained, quickly turning her tiles back towards her.

“You never do exactly as I say any other time,” he stated. “Why did you decide to start now?”

“I pick and choose when I want to listen to you,” she said with a grin. “Now what?”

Bruce proceeded to explain the game to her, spelling out his first word with his tiles. “Okay, now with the letters you have, try to build a word that uses one of the letters from my word.”

Diana studied her tiles for a long moment before glancing over at the game board. Her expression was one of absolute concentration. It caused the corner of his lips to twitch slightly in amused adoration. He didn’t know why he should be the least bit surprised that she would take the same determined focus she used in battle and apply it to a simple game of Scrabble.

He watched as she slowly raked her teeth over her bottom lip in an innocently sexy way that always made him forget his own name. “I don’t have all day, Princess,” he brusquely bit out with a growl in an effort to hide the fact that was having an effect on him again.

“Actually, you do have all day,” she reminded him as she continued to study her tiles. “Is there a time limit with this game?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Then, be patient,” she replied. “I want to beat you at this game.”

Bruce chuckled despite his overall annoyance. “It’s just a game, not a battle.”

Diana began to carefully place her tiles on the board, a single raven eyebrow arching as she looked up at him. “I’m surprised, Bruce,” she confessed. “I thought you would be far more competitive than this.”

He tilted his head as he studied the alleged word that she had spelled out. “I’m very competitive. I’m just not feeling very challenged at the moment especially with that word. What is that supposed to be?”

“It’s an ancient Themyscirian word,” she claimed. “It means domination in sexual encounters, but it could really apply to domination in other matters as well.”

He felt himself flush warmly with her explanation along with the way her blues were darkening making it more than a little uncomfortable in here. “You need to spell real words, Diana.”

“I did spell a real word. It’s not my fault that you don’t know anything about it,” she retorted.

“I know more about dominance in sexual encounters than you can begin to imagine,” he shot back, his voice husky.

Diana’s breath hitched as thoughts of him teaching her unexpectedly raced through her mind. “Care to elaborate?” she asked in a sultry tone that caused a shiver to shoot up his spine.

“Pick another word—in English,” he evenly told her, fighting back the desire that was rising within him.

“How do you expect me to spell an English word with the letters I have?” she asked him. “I have a ‘P’, ‘X’, ‘Y’, a ‘W’…”

Bruce held up a hand, stopping her in mid-sentence. “Just pick some more letters then.”

Diana had to look away to keep from laughing. Bruce was growing more flustered by the moment, desire beginning to storm in his eyes. She had a way of getting to him without hammering him over the head with what she wanted. The downside, of course, was the fact that it took longer and she wanted him now. She visibly shivered with the heated thought.

Bruce noticed, his scowl of annoyance turning into a frown of concern. “Are you cold?”

“What? No, I’m fine,” she replied, deciding to use the game to her advantage as she spelled out a new word. “I believe this will work well.”

He looked from the princess to the game board to find she had spelled out the word “love”. He felt his heart stutter in his chest as he stared at the word. For a long time he had tried to tell himself that what he felt for her was nothing more than just pure physical desire, primal and carnal. They were close friends and she deserved far more than just a one night stand to satisfy his lust. 

Besides, he had a feeling one night would never be enough. Once he’d tasted her, she would become a drug to his system, one that he could never get enough of. Over the last few months, however, he’d come to realize it was so much more than that—deeper, all-consuming, and eternal. He loved her and it scared the hell out of him.

Diana waited for what felt like an eternity as he picked up a handful of tiles. The expression that had been on his face had been one of mixed emotions, all rising to the surface at once and fighting for dominance. It was abruptly replaced by the emotionless mask of the Bat that had come to the forefront as he spelled out the word “mission”.

He looked up at her through his eyelashes, the scared little boy that lived inside of him making a brief appearance, pleading with her to understand that he could offer her nothing close to what she truly deserved.

Anticipating anger or frustration, he was both surprised and intrigued when she calmly picked up a few more tiles from the table, warmth and understanding permeating her eyes as she spelled the word “partner”.

His stomach flipped as he read the word, wanting that with her in every sense of the word, but knowing it was impossible. He spelled out the word “alone”, wondering why it was so much easier for him to talk to her through a dumb Scrabble game then to just talk to her like normal people did.

Diana smirked, shaking her head slightly as if to say “you aren’t going to win this battle”. She readily decided that if this was what it took for him to open up to her, she would go out and buy every single Scrabble game in the world. Picking up some tiles, she found the letters she was looking for before silently placing them on the board.

Bruce couldn’t help but snort in amusement as he read the word “stubborn”. He quickly formed a response that had Diana giggling as he called her “kettle”, telling her that she was the pot calling the kettle black when it came to being stubborn.

She spelled out “determined” in response as she sat back, folding her arms against her chest. Bruce’s heart swelled despite the wave of fear that rose in his throat. Steeling himself, he spelled “pain”.

Whether he meant his own pain that he carried with him or the foolish fear that he would end up hurting her, she didn’t know, but she replied with the word “strong”.

He stared at the word, wondering whether she knew she was beginning to sway his heart in that moment whether his stubborn will liked it or not. Unfortunately, his response never came as his commlink beeped in his ear.

“Nightwing to Batman.”

“Batman here,” he responded, standing to his feet and turning his back on Diana and their game. “What is it?

“We’ve got something,” Nightwing informed him.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**_Gotham, Abandoned Chemical Plant, June 19th, 09:56 EST_ **

Poison Ivy gently caressed the leaf of a special cross-breed version of a lily that she had created, talking sweetly to it as she watered it. While she loved the small paradise that she’d been able to turn the abandoned chemical plant into, it was still not anywhere close to what she wanted or had envisioned.

Gotham was just the very beginning of her plans. Once she had turned the entire city into a botanical paradise for her and her beloved pants to flourish, she would spread her eco-love project to the rest of the United States before spreading it all over the world. It was only a matter of time and a heavy dose of patience.

Gotham was her home, of course, but it was also going to be her guinea pig, her testing ground for her dream to become a reality. “Soon, my babies,” she softly cooed. “You will all be free to roam the world, to grow wherever you please without fear of being crushed or destroyed by man’s nasty ways.”

“Don’t we have a lot of work still to do before we can turn the world into your version of utopia?”

Ivy leaned down and lightly pressed her lips against the leaf before straightening and turning her attention to her partner. “Of course there is, but my babies deserve to know that there is hope for a better future for them once my plans have been put into action.”

“If you want to stay ahead of Batman, then I suggest we move up our timetable,” he told her. “Your men just got word from a source on the streets that the Bat is stepping up his search for you. It won’t be long before he catches up to us.”

“Batman is of no consequence to our plans,” Ivy replied with remarkable patience given the circumstances surrounding them. “There is no way that he’ll be able to stop us now that we have the spores all ready for use.”

“Batman always manages to find a way to infiltrate when you least expect him to,” he reminded her. “Just when you think you can’t lose, he shows you that you can.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” she snapped, her green eyes flashing as she glared at the man standing before her. “He has thwarted more of my plans than I care to think about. He’s been a very nasty thorn in my side, but no longer. This will be the end of the pesky Batman.”

“I think we might need to slow down, sit back and let Batman become occupied with someone else before proceeding if you won’t move up our timetable.”

“I hope that you aren’t turning on me,” she warned him as she slowly sauntered closer, slowly drawing a forefinger along his jaw as she gazed up into his eyes. “I’d hate to have to turn you over to my Venus Fly Trap to feast on. I’ve become quite attached to you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said with a wide smile. “I only want to see you happy, Ivy.”

Poison Ivy lightly traced the curve of his handsome face, more than pleased with the choice that she had made. He had turned out to be the best option to try her new mind-controlling toxin on. An up-and-coming botanist, who had been working on his doctorate at Gotham University, had unfortunately gone missing over six months ago, mysteriously disappearing one night after leaving his lab just after midnight. 

Now, he was serving her…and in more than just one capacity.

“I’m so glad we see things the same way,” Ivy murmured as she leaned in and kissed him passionately.

Alex Reed eagerly returned the kiss, his hands beginning to roam over her perfect curves. Her fingers slipped into his blond hair, keeping him where she wanted him. She decided right then and there that this was one drone that she wasn’t about to release from her paradise any time soon.

She finally broke the heated kiss, slowly dragging her tongue over her bottom lip as a pleased smirk formed on her face. Releasing her grip on his hair, her fingers slowly slid down his arm to find his hand. “Why don’t we discuss our plans further in my bed?”

Alex grinned, nodding his head in absolute agreement as he allowed her to take him by the hand to her bed, his gaze falling to the sway of her hips that moved like a sexy pendulum. Pleasing her pleased him more than he had ever dreamed possible.

Together, they would rule the botanical paradise that they had been working to create for so long now. His former life a distant memory, he found that by her side was the only place that he ever wanted to be.

**_Watchtower Infirmary, June 19th, 17:24 EST_ **

Diana couldn’t help glancing at the man lying in the bed to her left. In fact, it had soon become a frequent occurrence over the last two or three hours, wondering what it was that Bruce was working so intently on. Whatever it was, it had occupied his attention most of the day, leaving her to entertain herself.

Their Scrabble game had been interrupted, their “conversation” once again brought to a grinding halt without resolution…or the resolution that Diana had been hoping for. Nightwing had informed Bruce of something important, but what it was still remained a mystery to her.

She knew it couldn’t have been good by the way that Bruce had instantly grown angry, the tight set of his jaw. Something had happened or had been discovered that had stirred Bruce’s ire once more. He had been silently brooding ever since then, researching something on his laptop ever since.

As much as she wanted to know what was going on, Diana knew better than to ask him right now. He needed time to think through whatever Nightwing had told him, to process and analyze it. It never ceased to intrigue her how he worked through things, the methodical means that he applied to everything in his life, using logic and his mind to work out a problem. 

She just wished that he could lay it aside when it came to his heart, but she knew that to love him meant to love all of him—the good, the bad, and the oh-so infuriating.

It was as if he was wrapped up in a world all of his own, here in isolation with her and yet not here at all. She wondered if he even registered the fact that she was still in the room with him or that he was on the Watchtower.

She returned her attention to one of the magazines that Shayera had brought her, rereading the first paragraph of the same article she had started over thirty minutes ago. She couldn’t make her brain focus on anything else except for Bruce, trying to figure out exactly where she fit into his life or if she did at all.

She knew he had said before that a relationship between them was impossible, but his actions were saying something completely different. He needed to decide what he wanted because she didn’t think that she could take this hot and cold treatment much longer. 

One moment he seemed to really want to be with her and the very next, he didn’t want anything to do with her at all. He was making her head spin trying to figure out what he was thinking and feeling, trying to figure out if it was real or if he was just toying with her.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she was becoming. As much as she wanted to push him for a decision, she knew that he’d only end up shutting down and shutting her out, possibly for good this time. She couldn’t bear that.

She ground her teeth with the thought, finding she wanted to smack some sense into him. She had to admit, she was just as angry with herself as she was with him. She was sitting here moping over him like a lovesick school girl. She was an Amazon warrior, a Champion of the Gods for Hera’s sake. She was being pathetic over a silly man who probably didn’t even feel anything for her past friendship and maybe a little physical desire at best.

And she was not about to settle for some meaningless fling with him. She wanted all of him or none of him, no in between. That was what she was going to tell him once this was all over. She couldn’t keep doing this ridiculous dance with him anymore, tiptoeing around something that he might or might not feel.

Bruce caught a glimpse of Diana in his periphery, noticing the death grip she held on her magazine. Her knuckles were white, the magazine contorting under the force she was exerting on it, making him wonder had her so upset. Her cheeks were flushed with fever again which only managed to stir his worry again. 

He couldn’t help but sneer as he glared at the cover of the magazine she was looking at, more than a little annoyed that Shayera had given her Cosmo magazines to read. The naïve princess didn’t need to be exposed to the trash those magazines doled out. They would teach her nothing about what real love was or could be between a man and a woman and he definitely didn’t want her learning it from Cosmo or King Faraday for that matter.

She deserved a good man who would take his time with her, courting her and being an absolute gentleman, not a man who would push her into doing anything she wasn’t ready for. When she was ready for more, she needed a man who would truly love her with his whole heart, soul, and body, making it a beautiful experience that she would never forget.

He ached so desperately to be that man for her, but he couldn’t. He was far too broken, didn’t even know if he was even capable of showing her love like she deserved. Besides, what did he know about real love anyway? It had eluded him his entire adult life, making him cynical about the notion of true love. He had decided long ago that the love he thought he felt for certain women over the years had never actually existed, the feelings easily fading with time.

What he felt for Diana, though, was so unlike anything that he’d ever felt before and it terrified him because he knew it could be real this time, eternal. It would be absolutely amazing in every way if he only gave in to it…gave in to her.

It would be the best thing that had ever happened to him, but in the end, he would hurt her, crush her spirit…or far worse could happen to her because of Gotham. Eventually, she would leave in one fashion or another because they all did and he could not survive that. Not her.

The ringing of his cell phone broke him out of his dark brooding. He picked it up to find Alfred calling him. “This is Bruce.”

Diana’s ears perked up at the sound of Bruce’s cell phone ringing, making her wonder what was going on now. She felt guilty for eavesdropping on his conversation, but only slightly. Moreover, it wasn’t like she could help it. Where was she supposed to go?

Bruce suddenly groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I totally forgot,” he told Alfred. “Tell Kate that I’m sorry that I couldn’t make our date and send her a dozen red roses. I’ll have to make it up to her later.”

The unexpected sound of tearing caused Bruce to glance over at Diana in time to see pages of her magazine fluttering around her, fury dancing in her eyes. As much as he wanted to explain that Kate was just being used to further his playboy status, he found he couldn’t make himself tell her. She was really cute when she was jealous, not to mention it was vindicating for being forced to listen how King Faraday “loved” her and wanted to take her out. Damn government liaison.

It wasn’t like anything had really happened with Kate. They’d gone out a couple of times so far, kissed a little in the back of the limo, but that was as far as it had gone so far. He didn’t feel anything for her, but he had a reputation to uphold and that was paramount to keeping his secret identity just that.

“How is everything else going?” Bruce asked Alfred.

It wasn’t until Diana began to hobble past his bed with her IV pole in tow that he realized that she had escaped her bed without him realizing it. “Wait! Where do you think you’re going? No…not you, Alfred. I’m talking to Diana.”

“I’m hot. I’m going to take a shower like a real person for a change,” she nearly snapped his head off as she turned and leveled him with a deadly glare before slamming the bathroom door closed.

“You can’t take a shower with your cast on!” Bruce yelled at her, annoyed. “I’ve got to go, Alfred. I’ll call you back later. I’ve got a furious Amazon on my hands.” 

Almost a whole minute passed by before Bruce could get another word in, Alfred giving him a scathing lecture about how he needed to stop being a bloody arse and just tell her how he felt about her already. Toying with her heart was unacceptable and needed to stop this minute.

“Alfred, I have to go,” Bruce ground out.

Shutting his phone off as Alfred continued his lecture without pause; Bruce climbed out of his bed, gasping with the pain that shot through his side. He grumbled under his breath as he made his way towards the bathroom door, thankful that no one had brought them their supper yet. He didn’t need a lecture by anyone else right now about how to handle Diana or what he was supposed to do with these intense feelings for her that he didn’t want to have in the first place.

“Diana,” he called through the closed door. “Let me in.”

“No, I can do this myself,” she yelled at him.

“Princess, open this door now,” he growled, losing his patience.

“I don’t need you or your help!”

Her words cut deeper than he had anticipated, his heart instinctively clenching in response despite his anger at that moment. “You can’t get your cast wet and you’re not going to be able to do much with your IV.”

There was a long period of silence that felt like an eternity, but had probably only been a full minute at best. The unexpected sound of the bathroom door unlocking met his ears, letting him know that she was surrendering which was rather shocking considering that she never surrendered especially when it came to him. 

In fact, he didn’t know what surprised him more—the fact that she was surrendering or that she would actually accept help from him.

It suddenly crossed his mind that he would be seeing her naked. His fingers gripped the door handle even tighter, his body paralyzed with the thought. His heart began to thump wildly in anticipation, his mind screaming how dangerous this was going to be. 

He had already made up his mind that he was going to cut all ties with her as soon as this was over, completely removing her from his life in order to protect her and his heart. He couldn’t go back on that now no matter what happened here.

Bruce drew a fortifying breath before entering; surprisingly nervous about what he was about to find, but the overwhelming need to help her had taken full control of him now. The thought of her struggling when he could be helping her or her being in pain because he hadn’t done something to help her ate at his conscious. 

What he found was not at all what he had expected as he entered the bathroom. Diana was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, her IV pole beside her, her casted right leg straight out before her. She was still wearing her black tank top and shorts. 

She had pulled her hair out of her ponytail, her raven curls fallen around her face and shoulders. Fire still burned in her eyes, daring him to say anything that would push her over the edge. Her cheeks were a bright shade of red, either from the fever or from her fury. He didn’t know which, but neither was something that he could tolerate at that moment. He cared about her too much.

He felt terrible for upsetting her like this, but it was the truth of his life, of what he was and what he had to do. Being the playboy meant wooing beautiful women, partying with them and leading them on in order to cement his reputation and further protect his alter-ego. It was an ugly truth about his life that kept the people he cared about safe.

While it was vital to keep his mission going, he hated every single moment of it. He hated leading these women on, making them think that they actually had a chance with him, using them and tossing them aside like yesterday’s news. It went against everything he’d ever been taught, the gentleman that Alfred had trained him to be, but it was a necessary evil. 

Because of it, he’d long ago had to learn how to protect his heart, lock away the part of him that hungered to love and be loved by an incredible woman in return…a woman like Diana. He’d had to hide the real Bruce Wayne, burying him deep beneath a veneer of guiles flirting and shallow mentality. It was all an act, but with Diana, it was never an act. He found that he could be himself; the real Bruce that he sometimes forgot even existed.

Bruce stared at her for a moment longer, his mind telling him to run. His body refused to listen as his legs began moving of their own accord, taking him to her. Despite the anger in her eyes, her shoulders were slumped in defeat, her face fighting to hide the despair that he could feel radiating off her. She looked incredibly sad and it broke his heart to know that he had hurt her yet again.

How much worse would it be when he told her goodbye for the final time, never to see each other ever again?

He swallowed back the unexpected lump that had filled his throat as he sat down on the edge of the bathtub beside her. Without thinking, he reached out with his right hand, brushing her hair back behind her ear before settling on her cheek.

“You’re burning up again,” he murmured with a frown, his eyebrows knitted with worry.

Diana drew a deep breath, tilting her head and momentarily melting into his touch despite her anger with him. “I feel horrible,” she softly admitted. It also didn’t help that her back itched like Hades. J’onn had removed her bandages to allow air to get to her wounds for a couple of hours. She wanted to claw at her skin to make it stop.

“I can tell,” he gently replied. It was killing him seeing her like this and not able to do anything to help her.

Her eyes fell closed for a long moment, savoring the feel of his hand against her face and wishing it would last forever, that it would mean far more than just friendly concern. Her fingers moved to curl around his forearm, noticing how warm he felt to the touch as well.

“You’re getting sick too, aren’t you?” she commented, her voice barely above a whisper as she opened her eyes to gaze at him to reveal the very real fear that was simmering beneath the surface.

He slowly nodded his head, not wanting to admit that he’d been beginning to feel the effects of the contagion now as well. He had begun to feel a growing sense of warmth rising inside of him about an hour ago. He’d been trying to ignore it ever since, but he was steadily growing warmer, feeling more fatigued.

“What are we going to do?” she asked.

For the first time since they’d been quarantined together, he saw a flicker of doubt pass through her face. As abruptly as it had appeared, it vanished again as she struggled to regain control over her emotions. “We’ll get through this, Princess,” he reassured her. “I won’t give up until I’ve found a cure for this. I’m not going to let you die.”

A soft smile graced her lips as she lost herself in his blue eyes that she had adored. “I know.”

He returned the smile, his hand slipping from her face to lace his fingers with hers. “How about I help you into the bathtub since a shower is next to impossible?”

Diana’s face turned crimson, mostly from embarrassment now. “I don’t want to bother you. You’ve got a lot of work to do. I can just try to wash up in the sink.”

“You’re not a bother,” he insisted as he stood up and turned around. He leaned over, turning the water on to fill up the bathtub, adding some bath soap he found on the shelf to the cool water. “I need a break anyway.”

“Bruce, you really don’t have to do this,” she told him, attempting to get up to her feet.

Bruce grabbed hold of her arm, helping her up before turning her to face him. “I want to.”

Diana noticed the faint flush that suffused his cheeks now, wondering how much of it was from his fever. She bit her bottom lip, wondering how he was planning on getting her clothes off and her into the bathtub. As much as she wanted him to see her without her clothes on, she wanted it to be in a very different setting that included him naked as well.

“So how are we going to do this?” she asked, trying to hide the sudden rush of butterflies that had erupted in the pit of her stomach.

A smirk played on his lips, a playboy gleam glinting in his eyes. “I promise I’ll behave myself,” he teased. “I won’t even peek.”

“Who said I’d mind if you did?” she coyly flirted with him, flashing him a smirk of her own. 

Bruce did his best to stifle the strangled groan that he could feel rising up in his throat, but it was next to impossible with her standing so close and knowing where she was about to be…where he wanted to be with her.

“I’ll close my eyes,” he told her. “Tell me if you need help getting your clothes off.”

“Well, I’m not going to be able to get this tank top off with this IV attached to my arm,” she reminded him.

“J’onn said you have to stay hooked up to the IV. That medicine is the only thing keeping your fever from rising even more than it already is,” he said with his eyes still closed. “Just pull your tank top off and hook it on the IV pole. We’ll take care of it later.”

The sound of tearing almost made him open his eyes, but he forced himself to keep them closed. “Or I can just tear it off myself and not have to worry about it at all.”

“Or…you could do that,” he agreed, squeezing his eyes tightly closed against the overwhelming urge to open them.

“Hold out your hand,” she told him.

He could feel her grasping hold of his forearm, the sound of water moving meeting his ears. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good,” she told him. “You can open your eyes now.”

Bruce smirked though his eyes were still closed. “Are you trying to trick me, Princess?”

Diana’s soft lilting laughter filled the air, causing his eyes to open despite his best efforts. “I promise, Bruce. You’re not going to see anything that you don’t want to see.”

He internally growled. If she only knew what he fantasized about with her, the things he did to her every night in his dreams, she wouldn’t be thinking he didn’t want her. She’d probably throw him out of the closest airlock. 

He found Diana sitting in the bathtub, a layer of bubbles covering what he wanted to see. Her casted leg hung over the edge of the tub, keeping it from getting wet. She was leaning forward, unable to withstand anything touching her back yet.

A luxuriant smile touched her lips, her blue eyes closing with pleasure. He longed to kiss her senseless, to remove his clothes and join her in there, but he knew he couldn’t. Tamping down on his desire, he opted to sit on the edge of the tub, reaching for a washcloth and dipping it into the water.

“So what did Dick find out that has had you brooding all day?” she asked.

Bruce thought for a moment as he wrung out the washcloth. “Move your hair aside,” he told her. 

When she complied, he swallowed back the hiss that struggled to escape at the sight of her back again. It had healed somewhat compared to what it had been yesterday, the wounds scabbed over and beginning to knit back together, but it was something that would no doubt continue to haunt his sleep for months to come.

He gently began to clean around her wounds, his mind working to formulate some sort of response when all he wanted to do was kiss her. “Dick and Tim think they may have found where Poison Ivy is hiding out. They’re going to investigate it tonight.”

Diana could feel the tension in his voice, the worry for his sons that lay beneath the surface. It went without saying how much he truly cared about them though he never verbalized it. He didn’t need to, not with her. She could sense it in him. 

Talking about his feelings had never been one of Bruce’s strong points even on a good day so she knew that getting him to talk about what he felt for her would be next to impossible, if he felt anything at all. She’d have better luck trying to turn the Joker into a law-abiding citizen.

“You taught them well, Bruce,” she replied. “I’m sure they’ll be just fine.”

“I should be there, not—” he began only to abruptly stop when he realized what he had been about to say and how it would have sounded.

“Stuck here with me,” she finished for him.

The sad note in her voice did not go unmissed by him. “That’s not what I meant, Diana.”

“I know,” she softly said.

“Princess, you know it’s not because of you that I want out of here,” he tried to explain. “It’s just that—”

“It’s alright, Bruce,” she told him. “You don’t have to explain; I understand. Your place is in Gotham.” She turned her head to look into his eyes so he would see that she meant every single word she said. “I would never try to take that away from you. It’s a part of you; it’s what makes you who you are. I wouldn’t want to change that for the world. Gotham needs you as much as you need Gotham.”

They held each other’s gaze for a long moment, the desire to kiss her becoming nearly blinding. He could see the truth of her words shining in her eyes. She truly did understand, would never try to change him or ask more of him than he could give her.

Bruce gently brushed her hair from her forehead, cringing with how hot she still was to the touch. The cool water was doing nothing to help lessen her fever. They’d have to get her more medicine to help break her fever when she was done here.

“Dick and Barbara were able to analyze the spores that Tim had found,” he continued, needing to change the subject before he did something he couldn’t stop. “They transferred all the information to my laptop. That’s what I’ve been sorting through all day, trying to compare it to what J’onn has been able to discover so far about the contagion we were exposed to.”

“What did you find?” she asked.

“The spores are not the same as the contagion we found in the Nubian Desert,” he revealed, his frustration more than evident.

“That doesn’t mean that Poison Ivy isn’t behind this,” she pointed out, hoping to help him talk through all of this. “Maybe Tim found different spores for some other plan of hers.”

“Could be, but it would be easier if they were related to our contagion,” he groused. “Then I’d be able to create an antidote for this before it’s too late.”

“Don’t worry; it’s going to take a lot more than this to take us down,” she told him. “Can you hand me a cup? I really want to wash my hair.”

“Let me,” he offered, his heart hammering again. 

“Bruce…”

“Please, Princess,” he tried again. “It’s the least I can do for you risking your life for me.”

“I would have done it no matter what,” she replied. “I’d do it again in heartbeat.”

“I know,” he softly confessed as he gently tilted her head back.

Taking the cup, he collected water from the faucet to carefully pour over her head. He had always loved her hair, adoring it almost from the moment they had met. He had spent so much time imagining himself running his fingers through the silky raven strands or gripping it tightly as he made love to her.

He reached for her shampoo, pouring it into his hands before working it into her thick luscious hair. She groaned with the feel of his fingers massaging her scalp, wishing he’d never stop. Though he was fully dressed in his t-shirt and workout pants, it felt so intimate to her in a way that she hadn’t dreamed it would be. She fought the sudden urge to pull him into the tub with her regardless of his clothes.

He carefully began pouring clean water over her hair, rinsing the soap from her hair. He was surprised to find that he really enjoyed taking care of her like this. He wasn’t sure if it was because she so rarely allowed anyone to help her or the fact that it was her that needed him, but he found he didn’t want the moment to end.

Finishing with her hair, he reluctantly stood to his feet, grabbing a large bath towel and drying his hands with it. She was shivering now and he needed to get her out of the water and back to bed so J’onn could treat her fever.

“Let’s get you back to bed,” he murmured.

“I’m fine, Bruce,” she tried to reassure him. “I promise you that I’m not going to break.”

“You are broken, Diana,” he reminded her, his throat tightening as he held out the large towel for her, his eyes closing as she floated up out of the tub.

He felt the soft brush of her lips against his check, making him tingle all over and not lasting nearly long enough. His eyes flew open to find her standing before him with the towel wrapped around her. He handed her another towel for her hair, his heart racing with the intense emotions that were storming around them and through him.

“Thank you, Bruce,” she told him.

He headed towards the door, glancing back at her. “Any time, Princess. I’ll go get you another set of clothes.”

Closing the door, Bruce sagged back against the door, fighting to catch his breath again. Being in there with her, being able to take care of her, had been unbelievable and at the same time beyond painful knowing it couldn’t go any further between them.

He opened his eyes again to find J’onn entering isolation in his protective suit, a slight smile tugging at the corners of the Martian’s lips. “Not a word, J’onn.”

J’onn only nodded his head, making his way past him with their supper trays. It was apparent he was trying to hide a rarely seen smirk. It reminded Bruce of Alfred in a way. “I don’t believe I said a single word,” the Martian maintained.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Bruce responded with a scowl as he went to the cabinet to find Diana a new tank top and pair of shorts to wear.

“I thought I was the telepath here,” J’onn ventured, setting their trays down and turning his attention to the Dark Knight.

“You’ll need to redress Diana’s wounds on her back,” Bruce told him, his tone telling him he would speak no more about what had just happened in the bathroom between him and Diana. “Her fever is spiking again. We’ll have to see what we can do to get it down.”

“I will prepare more medicine for her and for you as well,” J’onn knowingly said. “I can see that you are beginning to share in Diana’s misery.”

“Misery?” Bruce frowned with J’onn’s choice of words.

“I’m afraid that she is not feeling as well as she is leading you to believe,” he informed him, a sad note to his voice. “She’s very strong, though. I’m sure she’ll fight this with all that she has just as you will.”

Bruce froze with his words, his stomach churning. Things were beginning to progress far more quickly than even he had anticipated. He needed answers and he needed them now before he lost her for good.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**_Cairo, Egypt, June 19th, 22:57 EET_ **

She sat in a room all alone watching the video from the compound three days ago. She had watched it nearly a hundred times now at least, memorizing it and picking it apart until there was nothing left to possibly learn from it.

She knew his every movement like she knew the back of her hand, knew absolutely everything about him. She knew the agile way that he shifted and turned, the finely honed skills that made him the best at what he did as well as the innate instincts that placed him a class all by himself. He was definitely in a league of his own.

She paused the video once more, zooming in on his cowled face as he stared down a hallway. She reached out to run the tip of her forefinger along his defined jaw that she loved. She had always found him to be extremely handsome, the powerful set of his jaw so very attractive to her. She had loved to kiss that jaw and chin, knowing the way that it always drove him wild.

Talia’s lustful gaze shifted to the Amazon standing tall and confident by his side, her lust and longing for her beloved morphing into ice cold hatred for Wonder Woman as she pressed the play button again. Her grip tightened on her cup as she watched them make their way together through the facility, listened in on their playful banter with one another.

It was painfully apparent how familiar they were with each other, how relaxed Bruce was around her. She had rarely seen him this comfortable, this physically open in his body language towards another. It was a testament to how much he truly trusted the Amazon. Bruce trusted very few, but Talia could tell that this Amazon was counted among that finite number.

Talia sneered at the screen, hot jealousy coursing through her veins. At one time, she had been counted as someone he trusted, someone he loved. And he still loved her. She knew that he did as sure as she knew that she would forever love him. He just needed to be reminded of that love, remember that they were destined to be together. They were soul-mates and nothing could ever destroy that…not even an Amazon.

“You grip that coffee mug any harder and you’re going to break another one.”

She didn’t bother looking up at the sound of his voice as she watched Batman grab the Amazon by the arm, jerking her back against the wall to shield her with his body as bullets sprayed down the hall. She fumed with how he practically molded his entire body against hers in such a familiar way, his mouth far too close to hers.

“I don’t know why you keep tormenting yourself like that, Talia. You’re only going to drive yourself crazy by repeatedly watching it.”

“Leave me alone,” she bit out, her voice rough with emotion as she ran her fingers through her brown hair, refusing to meet his intent gaze.

Ubu sank into a chair across from Talia, his dark eyes focused on the petite woman before him. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Talia?”

Talia finally looked up at him over the top of her computer screen, her eyes narrowed in anger with his intrusion. “What are you talking about? I’m following my father’s orders, am I not?”

“You’re still obsessed with Batman,” Ubu stated matter-of-factly. “That can only lead to disaster, Talia. Your father is beginning to question your loyalty. He will not stand for betrayal even from his own flesh and blood. You know that as well as anyone.”

“I gave Batman up to follow my father in his quest. Isn’t that proof enough of where my loyalties lie?”

“And yet here you sit daydreaming about him.”

A snarl formed on her lips as she glared at her father’s faithful servant, practically daring him to question her further. “You know nothing, Ubu. I am merely studying the video to see if I can discover anything useful.”

“So it bothers you not that Batman risked his life to protect the Amazon or that she did the same for him?” he asked her.

Talia’s fingers curled around the edge of her laptop in fury. “That Amazon whore does not deserve him.”

“He has moved on, Talia. He’s probably sleeping with the Amazon now. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

“They are not sleeping together,” she seethed.

“So you still hold a torch for the Dark Knight.”

“What if I do still love him?” she stated, her chin rising in angry defiance. “If I can persuade Batman to join our cause, won’t we be that much stronger for it?”

Ubu snorted in amusement. “You haven’t been able to turn Batman to our cause yet and he supposedly loved you at one time. What makes you think you can change his mind now? Not even your father has been able to.”

“I have my ways,” she said with a deadly calm, her brown eyes glinting with something cold and malicious. “I swear on my life that I will stay true to my father and have Batman by my side if it’s the last thing that I do.”

Ubu could only shake his head in amazement as he watched Talia storm from the room, wondering how long it would be before she and her father came to blows over Batman once again. It was only a matter of time before it came to that. It always did.

Batman wasn’t going to be swayed to Ra’s way and Talia simply could not give up either her father or the man that she loved. It was a war that could never be won.

**_Gotham; June 20th, 01:16 EST_ **

Nightwing stared at the building down the street, his dark blue eyes narrowed in concentration. His hands rested on his hips as he studied their target, more than anxious to get in there, but knowing they had to time their attack just right or it would all blowup in their faces.

“How’s the view from where you are, little bird?” Nightwing checked in with his partner.

“Crystal clear,” Robin replied. “Let’s do this.”

“Patience, little bird,” Nightwing cautioned him, checking his utility belt one last time. “We need to make sure this isn’t a trap.”

“We need to get in there and find a cure,” Robin reminded him. “He’s getting sick now. We don’t know how much time he or Wonder Woman has left.”

“Don’t worry,” he told him. “We’ll get in, shut down Ivy and get what they both need. He’ll be back before you know it.”

“I hope so,” Robin muttered, obviously unconvinced by his brother’s optimism.

“Listen, we go in high, drop in from above,” Nightwing reviewed the plan with him again. “Just be careful. We don’t know what we’ll be getting into. It won’t help Batman if we end up in quarantine with him.”

“Yah, but we’d be in there with Wonder Woman too,” Robin pointed out, his voice growing dreamy.

“Focus, little bird,” Nightwing chided him, shaking his head in amazement. “We have a job to do.”

“Let’s just do this,” Robin groused. “The longer we wait, the less time Bats has to get better.”

“Okay, we go in five,” Nightwing informed him, wishing they had a chance to do a little more recon, but knowing that time was definitely not on their side.

“Got it,” Tim agreed. “See you on the inside.”

Nightwing fired his grappling, launching himself off the side of the building and into the stillness of the night. He soared through the air, his thoughts a jumbled mix of determination, trepidation, and worry.

He was determined to save Bruce and Diana no matter what it took, but he had to admit that he couldn’t shake the feeling there was definitely something off about all of this, something that they hadn’t even considered yet. 

He landed on a nearby rooftop, immediately assuming a crouched position to remain concealed by the shadows that surrounded him. His body moved without having to think about it after years of training and conditioning. He had learned from the very best and now it was his turn to save his mentor-father.

He raced to the edge of the rooftop, peering over the side to find the alley empty before firing his grappling gun again. He landed on the roof of their target, hoping the intel that Oracle had been able to discover led them to what they needed.

So far, the facility appeared to be unoccupied, but he knew that looks could be deceiving. He made his way to the vent system, quickly and carefully removing the cover. He slipped on his protective breathing mask before slipping inside, determined to keep from being infected by whatever Bruce and Diana had been.

Just when he thought that there couldn’t be another abandoned building or facility in Gotham that they hadn’t investigated for one reason or another, a new one managed to be discovered and in use by some criminal mastermind as their new hideout. He was beginning to think that Bruce should just have all the abandoned buildings in Gotham demolished. It’d certainly cut down on the number of hideouts they’d have to search.

Pausing by another vent cover, Nightwing peered through it, looking for any clues that Ivy or her goons were here. The store room appeared to be empty save for a couple of rats nosing around the trash that had been left behind, looking for food.

Moving on, he worked his way towards the heart of the building, hoping that Tim was already in place. After Bruce, Tim was the next person that he’d trust most to have his back when going on a dangerous mission. The kid was smart and a quick learner, had a good head on his shoulders. He just hoped it was still there by the time the night was over.

Poison Ivy was dangerous to say the least and easiest to underestimate of all of Batman’s rogues. It was most likely because she was a beautiful woman who loved plants of all things, but that was also what made her so deadly. Her deranged obsession meant she valued her precious plants over human life. 

That kind of psychological deviation was tough to battle on a good day. Add to that the fact that she felt every environmental hazard in the world was nothing but toxic poison to her babies and it was a recipe for catastrophe, especially when you factor in Venous Fly Traps that could eat people and mind-controlling spores.

There was no telling what unhinged plot Ivy had concocted this time. If she was behind the dangerous contagion that infected Bruce and Diana, then Ivy was definitely going for the jugular this time with her nefarious plans, hoping to wipe out the populace of the world so her plants could rule.

The thought nearly made Dick break out in a cold sweat. If that contagion was let loose on the world, there was no telling what chaos could ensue. Right now, it appeared to be confined to just Bruce and Diana, but for how long? And how long did the two of them really have?

Too many unanswered questions and precious little time. They needed to move fast and get to the bottom of this. He just hoped that they were betting their money on the right villain and not wasting their time on someone who had nothing to do with the bioterrorism agent. He shuddered to think of who else might be behind it if not Poison Ivy.

Dick silently worked the vent screen free, slipping out and landing on the floor with barely a sound. He quickly scanned the area, finding test tubes and beakers lying scattered all over, some shattered and forgotten. He made his way to a black laboratory table that was similar to the kind they had in high school chemistry class. There were broken slides and specimens on the table, an old microscope that had to have been at least ten years old or more. Definitely not like the microscopes that Bruce had described seeing in the compound.

There were papers strewn all over the floor and tables, some with scribbled notes that made little sense and others completely blank. He knelt down to collect them, finding some more spores on the floor just like the ones that Tim had found before.

He carefully scooped them up, placing them in an evidence bag before putting them into his utility belt for safe-keeping. They appeared slightly different from the spores that Tim had found before, giving him a small flicker of hope that maybe these would prove to be the cause of Bruce and Diana’s quarantine.

Dick didn’t like what he was finding and, at the same time, what he was not finding. It looked like Ivy had been here recently, but had cleared out. Judging by the minimal amount of dust and cobwebs, she had been here within the last two weeks at most.

He straightened up, his intense gaze already scrutinizing the area again for any more clues that could help Bruce. He felt his skin prickle, his senses on high alert as he carefully and methodically searched the room.

“Robin to Nightwing.”

Dick tapped his commlink. “What have you got?”

“Meet me on the west side of the building in the processing area,” Tim told him. “I think I found something.”

“Stay put,” Nightwing said. “Wait for me. I’m on my way.”

Tim grumbled something under his breath before responding with a growl. “Whatever you say, boss.”

Dick smirked to himself as he swiftly made his way through the crematorium, keeping a careful watch on his surroundings. He didn’t want to end up triggering a bomb or any attack like what Bruce and Diana had come across. As determined as he was to get the necessary information to save them, he was equally resolved to get himself and Tim out of here in one piece.

Closing in on Tim’s position, Dick began to hear voices growing louder, neither of them familiar to him. More than likely, it was a couple of Ivy’s goons coming back for something they’d forgotten to take with them or cleaning up something left behind.

“Robin, we’ve got company,” Nightwing whispered into his comm link.

Several seconds went by without a response from his partner, making Dick worry that he was already in trouble. He quickened his pace as he reached for his escrima sticks. He wasn’t taking any chances especially when it came to Tim’s safety. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to him.

“I don’t know why we got sent back here,” one thug grumbled.

“Who cares?” the other replied. “At least this mission is easier than the last one she sent us on.”

“Ya got that right,” he grunted in agreement. “I’m still itching from having to move all those plants of hers. What’s she plannin’ on doing with them anyway? I ain’t never saw plants like that before.”

“Don’t know,” Al said with a shrug. “Somethin’ about levelin’ Gotham and turnin’ everyone into her own personal gardeners.”

“That’s just screwy.”

“Yah, but she pays good and as long as she don’t try usin’ that crazy mind-control crap of hers on us then who cares what she does to Gotham. It’s a hell hole anyway. Maybe some plants and stuff would improve it.”

“Not the plants that Ivy grows,” Ed countered, the sound of their voices as well as the steady scuff of their boots against the concrete floor growing louder. “Her plants have teeth and eat people. There’s somethin’ not right about that.”

“Not all of ‘em,” he pointed out. “The others will choke the life outta ya. Why da ya think I avoid those viney lookin’ plants?”

“Like I said,” Ed retorted. “Screwy.”

“Well, let’s just get what we were sent for and get outta here.”

“Where did she say it was?”

“In the processin’ area,” Al responded.

“Why did it get left behind in the first place?” Ed asked.

“I dunno,” Al said, trying to avoid making eye contact with his buddy.

“Yah, you do,” Ed countered, glaring at his friend. “Ya were too busy checkin’ in with your bookie to notice that ya left it behind.”

“Hey, it was legit!” Al claimed. “I got a thousand ridin’ on the Gotham Knights’ game.”

“It’s a wonder Ivy didn’t string ya up for leavin’ it behind.”

“Yah, yah…let’s just get in and outta here,” Al snapped. “This place is givin’ me the creeps.”

“And her new place don’t?”

“Not as much as this place does,” he said, his dark eyes darting around him. “At least the new place ain’t a rundown crematory.”

“Whadda ya think? Ivy’s able to reassemble the ashes of the dead?”

“No, it’s just…”

Al stopped not only talking, but stopped dead in his tracks. His buddy stopped as well, turning to his cohort in crime with a strange expression on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“Thought I saw somethin’.”

Ed looked around them, his hands on his hips and the skepticism more than evident on his face. “There’s no one here but the two of us. Yer bein’ paranoid.”

Al stood there for a few moments longer, searching the area but seeing nothing and hearing even less. He continued on, but the worried expression remained. He couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that someone was watching them from the shadows.

He reached for his gun just in case as they made their way to the processing area. Why Poison Ivy had chosen a crematory as a hideout was a complete mystery to him. It certainly wasn’t an inviting place to grow plants, but maybe that had been the idea.

“Where is it?” Ed asked as he came to a stop in the middle of the room.

“I think Ivy said it was over that way,” Al indicated with a nod of his head towards their left.

“Let’s just get it and get outta here,” Ed grumbled. “Try not to check in with yer bookie this time.”

“Funny.” Al sneered as he turned to his left only to abruptly freeze again.

“Whatcha doin’ now?”

“I swear I saw someone,” Al stated, pointing his gun.

“It was probably just some stray cat,” Ed told him.

“Dude, that was no cat.”

“You’re such a sissy.”

“I ain’t either,” Al grumbled.

“Are ya scared that Batman will show up?” Ed asked with a chuckle, waving his hands wildly to spook his friend even further.

“Ain’t you?”

“Naw,” Ed confidently answered. “He don’t scare me. It’s just some guy in a black bat suit. He can’t be that special.”

“You either aren’t from around here or you’re not very bright if you’re not afraid of Batman.”

Both men froze as they immediately began looking around the dark shadows of the room. “Who said that?” Ed demanded, turning in tight circles as he pulled his gun.

“I have to agree,” Robin chimed in from his position on the other side of the room. “Not smart at all.”

“Come out wheres we can sees ya!” Ed yelled, growing angry, his gun pointed in the direction Robin’s voice had just come from.

“Yah, come out heres and face us like real men,” Al taunted, adjusting his grip on his gun.

“Tell us what we want to know and we’ll let you walk out of here without any broken bones,” Nightwing responded with escrima sticks gripped tightly in both hands.

“We ain’t tell’ you nothin’ until you come out and face us!”

“Looks like they want to do this the hard way,” Robin decided as he inched closer with batarang in hand.

“Looks like it,” Nightwing agreed. “Guess it’s time to show them why they should be afraid of Batman.”

“Ya want the hard way, we’ll gladly give it to ya,” Al yelled.

Both Al and Ed began firing wildly into the dark shadows that surrounded them, a hail of bullets pinging and ricocheting off equipment. They turned as a single unit with backs pressed against each other, hoping to hit at least one of them.

Nightwing ducked and rolled, pressing his back against a thick steel post, hoping that Tim had been able to find adequate cover. He tightened his grip on his sticks, impatiently waiting for them to finish their attack or run out of ammo when he heard a cry that nearly stopped his heart.

It was Tim.

“Hey! Sounds like we got one of ‘em,” Al crowed with glee.

“Let’s get outta here,” Ed growled, grabbing Al by the shoulder and pulling him with him towards the door.

Both men tried to make a quick exit only to be met with an escrima stick to the heads that seemed to come out of nowhere. They both dropped like rocks, knocked out cold. “Robin!” Nightwing yelled, fear threatening to strangle him.

“Here,” he weakly called back, his voice revealing the pain that he was in.

Nightwing ran to where Robin was hiding, relieved that he was still alive, but fearing the full extent of his injuries. Coming around a large steel container, he found Tim lying on the ground, blood oozing from a bullet wound in his thigh.

“I’m here, bro,” Nightwing murmured as he dropped to his knees by his brother’s side.

He tore off a piece of his cape and wrapped it around Tim’s thigh before scooping him up into his arms to carry him out. Tim looked pale, sweat beading on his brow. The amount of blood that he’d already lost struck fear in Dick’s heart.

“Hang on, little bird,” Dick told him as he carried him out, more than thankful that he had decided to take the Batmobile instead of the bikes tonight.

He’d have to come back later to see what Poison Ivy’s men were coming back after. Right now, his biggest worry was getting Tim back to the cave and Alfred before it was too late.

**_Watchtower Infirmary, June 20th, 04:22 EST_ **

“What?” Bruce growled, fury instantly heating his blood. “Is he all right?”

Diana sat up with the sound of Bruce’s voice, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. It was obvious that something had happened tonight, Bruce’s face tense with fear and anger. She quickly threw off the covers, moving to sit on the edge of the bed as she waited to find out what had happened.

She watched him as he listened to the report that he was being given. The color had drained from his face as he sat on the edge of his bed with cell phone in hand. He leaned forward, holding his head in his hand as he continued to listen to whoever was reporting in.

“It’s not your fault,” Bruce evenly stated, his tone hard like steel. “You did the right thing.”

Diana felt her own fear beginning to rise from deep within her, making its way up from the pit of her stomach and into her chest. Her fingers curled into her blanket as she waited with bated breath to find out who had been hurt and how badly.

She knew Tim a little better than Dick only because Tim had been at the manor at the time that she had been there. While she didn’t know either of them all that well, she felt a sort of attachment to them through Bruce. They were important to him and therefore important to her in a way.

She sent up a silent prayer to her gods, praying for special healing and protection over the injured member of the self-proclaimed Batclan. She longed to go to Bruce as she watched him struggle over the news he was receiving, wanting to wrap her arms around him and hold him close.

She knew how difficult this had to be for him being forced to stay here in isolation with her when he was needed out there. Gotham needed him, but his sons needed him more right now. She could see how it was tearing him apart though he would never admit it, his face the frightening mask of the Bat even without his cowl on.

For a split second, she thought that his eyes actually appeared brighter than usual, moist with unwanted tears that he refused to allow to fully form. She watched as he firmly pulled his emotions back behind that thick impenetrable wall of his that she had been banging her fists against for so long now—he more than determined to keep her out, she more than resolved to break it down.

“Let me talk to Alfred,” he finally said after several long moments of silence.

Unable to take it a moment longer, Diana got up and made her way to him, sitting down on the edge of his bed beside him. She didn’t care if he didn’t want her there or if he would rather be alone. He was stuck with her right now whether he liked it or not. Hopefully, she could help him see through this that she could be a help to him, not a hindrance.

Bruce barely noticed that Diana had moved to sit beside him until he felt her hand gently come to rest against his back. His mind was numb, his heart racing. He could barely connect his thoughts as he tried to process what Dick had just told him.

Tim had been shot tonight. He wanted to pound his fists into something, to race from the infirmary to Gotham and find who had done this.

Alfred reassured him that Tim was going to be fine. Leslie had met Dick and Tim in the cave, doing emergency surgery on Tim to remove the bullet from his leg and stopping the bleeding. If the bullet had penetrated a couple of inches the other direction, he would have bled to death before Dick could have gotten him back to the manor.

Alfred’s voice droned on and on with assurances, telling him not to worry, but it was more than difficult. He and Leslie were keeping a close eye on Tim and Dick was going back to the crematorium to find out what Poison Ivy had been keeping there. 

“Keep me posted,” Bruce finally replied, his voice rough and raw like his conflicting emotions at that moment.

Silently laying down his phone on his bedside table, Bruce leaned forward once more to hold his head in his hands, his fingers digging into his skull as he gripped his hair tightly. He could feel the slow, gentle slide of Diana’s hand over his back, the up and down, back and forth motion gradually creating a calming eye in the center of his storm.

The overpowering need for revenge, dark and full of such rage, struggled to break free. The warmth of her touch against his back, tender and full of understanding, fought to pull him back from that void that threatened to swallow him whole.

She didn’t say a word, didn’t hammer him with questions about what had happened or what he was going to do. She didn’t offer him words of comfort or assurances that everything was going to be alright. She just sat with him, giving him her silent support, being there for him if he needed her…just like she had always been for him over the years.

He knew it with every fiber of his being that she would always be there for him whenever he needed her, though he’d never admit to needing anyone. Needing her meant risking losing her and he couldn’t lose her. Still, there was a warm sense of comfort and peace that came with her presence now, the thought of her being a constant in his life giving him the strength he needed to press on.

He knew that he had no right to even ask for that strength and reassurance that she always brought to his life, not with how he treated her, constantly drawing her in one moment only to push her away the next out of fear. It wasn’t fair to her.

Bruce felt her lean a little against him, creating a sense of warmth that only the connection they shared could begin to provide. Though he was loathe to acknowledge its existence, he could feel that intense bond gradually growing stronger between them over time, leaving an empty hollow ache in him when she was not near him.

“Tim was shot tonight,” he finally confessed, his words coming out in a strangled gasp as unwanted tears stuck in his throat.

Diana froze, the news cutting her as sure as a knife’s blade. Tim was just a teenager, so young and innocent and full of life. He didn’t deserve this. It inflamed her anger, wanting more than anything to find the piece of filth that had done this to him.

“Is he going to be alright?” she softly asked, not wanting to push him and yet needing to know.

“Leslie was able to do emergency surgery and remove the bullet,” he informed her, straightening up but not able to look at her just yet. “He’ll be fine. He’s sleeping now so I couldn’t talk to him.”

A thousand things flew through her mind all at once, words that she wanted to say to him, but none of them seemed nearly enough for what he must be going through. Her hand moved to the back of his neck, her fingers playing with his hair and caressing him. She just wanted to be there for him, hoping he’d feel comfortable enough to open up to her.

“I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for you not being able to be down there with your family now,” she gently said. “I wish there was something I could do or say to make it better for you, Bruce.”

He slowly turned towards her, his gaze locking with hers. The understanding and strength he found there nearly overwhelmed him. Her cheeks were pink with fever, her body broken and a deadly contagion they couldn’t begin to identify let alone cure was slowly killing her and here she was comforting him, wanting to make things better for him.

She was truly an incredible woman in every way imaginable, full of such compassion and purity of heart. She was the most beautiful woman in the whole world and, for some reason that completely shook his logic to its very foundation, she was attracted to him. It made absolutely no sense in the world to him.

“Princess,” he murmured. It was the only thing he could possibly say in that moment, his emotions overwhelming him.

Diana’s hand moved from the nape of his neck to the side of his face, her fingers coming to rest against his temple. “I will always be here for you, Bruce,” she promised him. “I’m not going anywhere no matter how hard you try to push me away. I wish you could allow yourself to believe that.”

Bruce’s body grew tense, his need for her suddenly thrumming through his system with a life-force all its own. His blood pounded in his ears as she slowly leaned in closer, his gaze falling to her lips. It was all happening so fast and not nearly fast enough.

His breath caught in his chest as her lips pressed lightly against his in a sweet, lingering kiss. Every fiber of his being screamed out at him to answer her kiss with everything he had, to roll her under him and give himself to her in every way.

He allowed himself a brief moment of pleasure as he kissed her back, but not nearly as deeply as he was aching to. He wanted to bury his fingers in her hair, push her back in his bed and unleash every bit of his pent up hunger and love for her, but he couldn’t.

Bruce pulled back, shaking his head as he closed his eyes with regret. “You should get some sleep.”

Diana’s heart sank with his words, with the reappearance of that damn wall of his that he threw up between them every time she got too close. She sat there for a long moment, weighing her options and knowing that pushing him would only thicken that wall even more with what had just happened to Tim. He’d be even more afraid of letting her in now than ever before.

She silently got to her feet, hobbling over to her bed with her IV pole in tow. Settling down on the edge of her bed, she stared at him, seeing the battle taking place within him and knowing that it was one that he alone had to fight. All she could do was prove to him that she loved him and that she would always be there for him no matter what.

Bruce knew he had hurt her by pushing her away yet again, but it was too dangerous being with him. It was safer this way not only for her but his heart as well. He had no doubt that what they could have together would be nothing short of magical, but the risk was far too great.

He made his way to the viewing window that afforded him a beautiful view of the earth, wishing he could be down there where he was needed. He could do absolutely nothing up here stuck in isolation, couldn’t work on a cure and definitely couldn’t help protect Gotham.

Glancing over at Diana who had settled back into bed, he couldn’t help but feel the gnawing ache in his chest expanding and stealing his breath. Every time he pushed her away, it grew bigger…deeper, more painful. 

How much longer before it swallowed him whole?


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**_Wayne Manor, June 20th, 10:30 EST_ **

Alfred couldn’t keep from nodding off, his chin repeatedly falling to his chest as he dozed off again. Despite his best efforts to remain awake, it had proven to be a difficult task to keep his eyes open. It had been a long, stress-filled night full of anxious worry when Dick had returned with a barely conscious Tim.

Thankfully, Leslie had been able to come immediately when he had called for her, arriving at the manor only a few moments head of Dick. She had been able to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding, sewing up Tim’s leg and saving his life. It had been a harrowing night, but thankfully things had finally settled down.

He jerked himself awake, forcing his eyes open once more as he glanced at the teenager still sleeping in his bed. The color had begun to return to his face, giving him even more confidence that he would make a full recovery. Leslie had reassured him that Tim was strong and should heal relatively quickly, but he wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d seen it for himself.

Despite being Bruce’s adopted ward, Timothy was like his own grandson, holding an affectionate place in his heart. He and Dick were family, though not bonded by blood. Nothing could ever change that no matter what. 

Alfred sighed heavily as he leaned forward to adjust Tim’s covers around him, his hand coming to rest on the teenager’s forehead. He could still hear the tightly gripped panic in Bruce’s voice when he had spoken to him last night, the unspoken fear and anger that lay beneath the surface of his words.

He knew it was tearing Bruce up not being here for Tim, for not being out there in Gotham to protect him. It was a wonder that he hadn’t escaped isolation regardless of what anyone said in order to return to the manor. He had a feeling a lot of it had to do with a certain Amazon that was stuck in isolation with him.

As much as he knew that Bruce despised the situation he currently found himself in, Alfred was actually relieved it was Diana that he had been quarantined with. While it was frightening not knowing what they had been exposed to or how this would end up affecting them, he hoped that it would force Bruce to finally face what he’d been running away from for the last three plus years.

If anyone could break through Bruce’s defenses, it knew it would be the Princess of the Amazons. She alone possessed the patience and the determination to help Bruce confront his demons once and for all; helping him to see that he deserved what he had been fighting so hard for everyone else to have—a happily-ever-after.

After everything that he had endured throughout his life, no one in this world deserved to be happy more than Bruce. He’d had his heart broken and crushed, stepped on and thrown aside. So many women had come through his life only to leave almost as quickly, but Alfred knew in his heart that Diana was different. 

She was the one that Bruce needed, the one that could heal his heart and show him what true love could be like if only he’d give her a chance. Unfortunately, his surrogate son was the most obstinate man that he’d ever had to do battle with.

Leaning back in his chair by Tim’s bed, Alfred couldn’t help the overwhelming sense of sadness that unexpectedly settled over him. He had never dreamed that Bruce’s life would turn out like this. He knew that even though proud of what their son had been able to accomplish, Thomas and Martha would have wanted so much more than this for him.

His parents would have loved Diana, welcoming her into their lives and their family with open arms and open hearts. He just had to find a way to make Bruce see that as well. Regrettably, any time his parents were mentioned, Bruce automatically shut down and shut everyone out.

Standing from his chair, Alfred slowly made his way around Tim’s bedroom, absentmindedly tidying up things. He came to a stop before the window, his gaze settling on the expansive grounds of Wayne Manor. He clasped his hands behind his back, losing himself to his troublesome thoughts once more.

What would it take for Bruce to see the light? Diana dying from this nasty contagion? Being on his deathbed for him to finally confess his love for the princess? It would be far too late then. 

Alfred pushed back the tears that began to form behind his eyes, refusing to acknowledge them. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing Bruce to this terrible virus, but he felt he was beginning to lose him anyway. He was losing him to his damned mission and the darkness inside of him, stealing the soul of the man as the Bat slowly swallowed him whole.

He turned around to find Dick standing in the doorway of Tim’s bedroom, his attention focused on the sleeping teenager. His expression was like a window to his soul, one that had been viciously flung open the moment his brother had been shot and laid bare.

They stood in silence for several moments before Dick finally spoke. “Has he woken at all yet?”

“No, not yet, but Leslie gave him something to make sure that he slept,” Alfred informed him as he returned to his chair. “She wanted to make sure that he didn’t move very much. She didn’t want him to accidentally tear the sutures in his leg.”

“I never should have let him go with me,” Dick said, his mind replaying the night’s horrifying events for the hundredth time.

“Now, Master Richard,” Alfred sharply reprimanded him. “Master Bruce already does a superb job of hording all the senseless guilt for everything that happens that’s beyond his control. Don’t you start in as well. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen. Besides, do you seriously think you could have kept Master Timothy from going in there with you?”

Dick grunted in agreement. “No, I guess not. Trying to keep Tim down is like trying to get Bruce to talk about his feelings. I definitely don’t envy Diana being quarantined with him. He’s probably driving her absolutely crazy by now.”

“I’m actually quite surprised that Master Bruce hasn’t shown up here already,” Alfred confessed.

“I’m sure Diana would tackle him to the ground to keep him from leaving if it came down to it.”

“I just wish he would allow himself to open his heart to her,” Alfred remarked, a worried expression deepening his wrinkles.

“It’ll take a major miracle for that to happen,” Dick replied with a scowl. “He has the hardest head in the entire world. I don’t know if Diana can even get through to him.”

“Were you able to find what Poison Ivy was up to at the crematorium?”

“No,” Dick stated, folding his arms against his chest as he leaned against the door frame. “By the time I got back, her two goons were gone and so was whatever they had left behind. There was no sign of anything out of place there so we’re back to square one once again.”

“I’m sure something will come up soon.”

“I hope so because we have no idea how much time Bruce and Diana actually have left now,” Dick confessed, worry clouding his eyes. “We have to figure this out and soon, Alfred. We can’t lose either of them.”

“I fear what this virus will do to them,” Alfred said. “I’ve always feared Master Bruce going out one night and never coming back and now he’s at risk of being killed by a virus.” 

“I’m worried that even if Bruce lives and Diana dies, we will still lose Bruce,” Dick divulged.

“I greatly fear that too,” Alfred thoughtfully murmured as his gaze fell to the sleeping teenager. If Diana died, he feared that a part of Bruce would die with her. “Have you thought about returning to Africa to search the compound again?”

Alfred tried to think of something…anything that might help break this case wide open, providing them some much needed answers. He could only imagine how this was driving Bruce mad by not being able to perform the investigation himself. Relying on others was not one of Bruce’s best qualities.

“Maybe,” Dick thoughtfully said. “Supes and Green Lantern already returned there looking for anything that might help, but didn’t find anything. I may have to make a return trip of my own.”

“Not without me.”

Tim’s groggy voice was a welcome interruption in their conversation, both men quickly moving to his bedside as Tim attempted to sit up, his eyes barely open. “Whoa there, bro,” Dick cautioned him as he sat down on the edge of the bed, gently pressing him back into the bed. “You aren’t going anywhere until Leslie says so.”

“I feel fine,” Tim stubbornly mumbled with a scowl. “I want to go with you.”

“Tim, you were shot,” Dick reminded him. “You aren’t in any shape to be going back out into the field with me for at least a month or more and that’s even if Bruce lets you out of this house ever again.”

“Oh, man,” Tim muttered with a groan. “It wasn’t that big of a deal. In fact, I think it’s pretty cool. I got shot and lived to talk about it.”

“You aren’t telling anyone about it, young man,” Alfred scolded him, “and it’s not ‘cool’. You nearly gave us all a heart attack. Poor Master Bruce has been beside himself worrying about you. I’m surprised that he hasn’t tried breaking out of isolation in order to get down here to see you.”

“Really?” Tim brightened considerably with the news before suddenly frowning. “But he’s worse off than I am. He needs to be worrying about himself, not me.”

“Tim, when was the last time Bruce ever worried about himself?” Dick asked, glancing at Tim’s IV pain pump.

“I know, but still,” Tim grumbled. “When do you want to leave for Africa?”

“I might go tomorrow—alone,” Dick replied, leveling Tim with a glare. “It depends if we get any breaks in the case before then.”

Tim scowled at his older brother, clearly disagreeing with him. “I’m sure I’ll be up and around by tomorrow.”

Dick pushed the button on his pain pump, hoping to knock him out and keep him in bed where he belonged. “Yah, we’ll just see about that, little bird,” he replied with a roll of his eyes.

“Would you like a little something to eat?” Alfred asked, giving Dick a knowing look. It wouldn’t take long for those pain meds to take effect and knock him out. “I’d be happy to make you whatever you want.”

“Hmmm…I don’t know,” Tim mumbled, his eyelids growing heavy. “Pizza sounds awesome. No, wait…a cheeseburger and fries. No, I think maybe Chinese…some egg rolls…chicken quesadillas…spaghetti…or maybe tacos…Wonder Woman.”

Dick looked up sharply at Alfred standing on the other side of Tim’s bed, a wide grin slowly spreading across his face as he mouthed “Wonder Woman” to the British butler. Alfred only smiled in response, relieved that he was going to be alright as Tim mumbled something about potato chips and Wonder Woman as he fell into a deep sleep again.

“Well, I’m going to get a shower before heading over to Barbara’s. We’re going to analyze the spores I found at the crematorium.”

“I think you should try to get some sleep before going to Miss Barbara’s,” Alfred advised him. “It will do Master Bruce and Miss Diana no good if you end up running yourself down.”

“I’ll be fine, Alfred,” Dick reassured him. “I’ll sleep when Bruce is home where he belongs.”

Alfred watched as Dick made a quick exit, a sudden heavy weariness settling over him once more. These boys were going to be the death of him starting with Bruce and yet he knew there was no other place he’d rather be. He needed them just as much as they needed him.

Leaning over, he adjusted Tim’s covers around him once more before returning to his chair where’d been keeping a watchful vigil over him. He settled into a comfortable position, finally allowing himself to fall asleep now that he knew that Tim was going to be all right.

He just hoped the same could be said for Bruce and Diana.

**_Watchtower Infirmary, 15:03 EST_ **

J’onn paused to stretch his neck before returning to the arduous task of creating an antidote for a contagion that they were having a great deal of difficulty breaking down. They had been able to make some progress, but it had been very slow and arduous to say the least. He had called on Atom for his expertise, hoping that he might be able to find something that he had missed. 

Unfortunately, he was having about as much success as J’onn had had so far.

The door to his lab swooshed open, allowing Superman to enter, a grim expression already on his face. “How are you doing, J’onn? Any luck yet?”

“I’m afraid not,” J’onn regretfully informed him as he leaned back in his chair. “This virus is proving to be very complex indeed. There is an alien component to it that we can’t seem to break down no matter what we try. If we could, then there is a chance that we will be able to create an antidote, but so far it’s not looking good.”

Superman’s heart abruptly felt heavier with the lack of good news. They had been infected four days ago and their progress in finding a cure for them had been nil at best. “How are Bruce and Diana holding up?”

“Diana’s fever has returned,” J’onn revealed. “Nothing I give her for it seems to lower it for very long. Bruce has developed a cough and some difficulty breathing requiring administration of oxygen for the time being until I can get his oxygen saturation levels back to normal.”

Clark shook his head, a frown on his face. “I can imagine Bruce is taking that real well.”

J’onn released a long, slow breath, his expression weary. “He is not happy to say the least, but surprisingly compliant…at least for the moment. We will see how long that will last now that he’s forced to wear oxygen tubing.”

“That is surprising,” Clark agreed. “So any ideas about how to figure out this alien component to the contagion?”

“I have spoken with Green Lantern and he is going to take a sample of the contagion to Oa to see if they know anything about it or can help us create an antidote for it. He’s hoping someone in the Lantern Corps has seen this before.”

“That’s going to take quite a bit of time,” he stated, thinking it all through.

“It’s the only option we have left at this point,” J’onn responded. “Bruce and Diana are worsening. It’s only a matter of time before I’ll be unable to help them unless I can get some sort of antidote for this. Diana is already not responding to the meds I’ve tried. It won’t be long before Bruce will be in the same boat that Diana is now in.”

Clark rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, trying to banish the fatigue that was weighing on him. He hadn’t slept much since this had all happened, too worried about his friends to function. He’d been doing his own investigating, trying to track down any leads that might help them figure out who was behind all of this and stop them before they could unleash the bioterrorism agent on the world.

“I really thought that Diana’s Amazonian physiology and her gift of healing would have combated this better than it has.”

“I would have hoped as well, but it appears that it is unable to withstand whatever this alien component is,” J’onn replied. “Right now, John and the Lantern Corps is our only hope for them, save for finding whoever is behind this. Whoever made this virus would have also created some sort of antidote for it to protect themselves from exposure.”

“I hope they did,” Clark muttered. “If not, we’re all in a lot of trouble if this is released into the public.”

J’onn shook his head, reminded of how his own planet had been devastated by an invasion of a very different kind. “I shudder to think of the utter chaos that it could create…the destruction.”

“Is John taking someone with him?” Clark asked.

“I believe that he’s going to take Shayera with him.”

“That’s good,” Superman agreed with a nod of his head. “He’ll need someone with him.”

“I fear that even if he does find the answers we need that it will be too late by the time he returns,” J’onn confessed with a sigh.

Superman squeezed J’onn’s shoulder, sharing his fear but wanting to try to reassure him nonetheless. “I’m sure we’ll figure out something to help them.”

**_Watchtower Isolation, 15:15 EST_ **

“Come on, Bruce,” Diana pleaded with him again, refusing to give up.

“No,” he snapped. “I’m busy and besides that you’re supposed to be resting.”

“I have a fever. I’m going to be hot and uncomfortable no matter what I do so I might as well have a little fun,” she told him. “Besides, Wally brought them for us to use.”

She studied him from her bed, watching him as he typed away on his laptop, a hard expression set on his face. He’d been in a foul mood all day, more than likely still upset about what had happened to Tim. She’d been trying to coax him out of his dark brooding mood with little success, but was determined to win the battle.

“We’re in isolation, Princess,” he reminded her without looking up from his computer. “There’s no fun in that.”

“You have to make it fun, Bruce,” she countered. “We have to make the best of what we have been played.”

“Dealt, not played and I am,” he maintained without looking up from his laptop. “I’m working on a deal for Wayne Enterprises with a company in Tokyo.”

“You’ve been working on it all day,” she pointed out, her frustration filtering into her voice. “Do you plan on ignoring me tomorrow too?”

Bruce looked up at her with a furrowed brow, her words capturing his full attention. “I’m not ignoring you.”

“Bruce, this is the most you’ve looked at me or said to me all day.”

Bruce’s frown turned into a scowl. “I’ve talked to you today.”

“You asked if I was going to eat my chocolate pudding cup at lunch,” she replied. “That’s not talking to me. That’s asking me a question.”

He looked away, feeling guilty, but refusing to admit it. Last night had been difficult, learning about what had happened to Tim cutting far deeper than he was willing to think about. He had let his guard down with her, allowing Diana to get too close again. He couldn’t afford to allow that to happen ever again. He had steel himself against her and the intense feelings that she stirred within him.

“I’ve got a lot on my mind right now,” he bluntly stated, turning his attention back to his work.

He began to type only to be interrupted again, this time by a Nerf arrow sticking to the middle of the screen of his laptop. Annoyed, he pulled the suction cup tip of the arrow from his screen, turning towards the determined Amazon princess.

“Diana, I—”

He was stopped short by a Nerf arrow to the forehead, one that bounced off his head only to land harmlessly in his lap. He gave her a fierce Batglare that would have terrified anyone else, a low growl rising in his throat. 

He watched as she lifted the tip of the barrel of her Nerf blaster to her lips, blowing proudly on it as if she had just won a shootout at the O.K. Corral. All she needed to complete the look was a cowboy hat and matching boots. It reminded him of their time in the old west when they had been chasing Chronos.

He knew that Flash had to have taught her such a maneuver at some point. It was either that or she’d been watching too many movies with him again. He was going to have to start assigning Flash to duties opposite of Diana’s schedule.

Diana flashed him a mischievous grin despite the fact that he knew she wasn’t feeling well. He could see it in her eyes and the rosy flush of her cheeks. It was part of the reason that he hadn’t been able to make eye contact with her or talk to her most of the day.

Why did she have to be so captivating? Her playfulness and the warmth of her smile seemed to reach right into his heart, lifting his spirits like only she could ever do. “You don’t want this, Diana,” he sternly warned her.

She tossed him the other Nerf blaster along with a full package of darts, her blue eyes narrowing in forewarning as she tilted her head slightly. “You really think you can best an Amazon, Mister Wayne? I’d love to see you try.”

Bruce could barely contain his amusement with her, an expression of pure annoyance firmly on his face despite the fact that he found her utterly endearing at that moment. She had a fierce expression of her own on display, one that showed her determination to win the battle no matter what.

The princess always gave all that she had whether it was a battle against Cheetah, a game of Scrabble or a Nerf shooting competition. How could he possibly defend himself against her dangerous charms?

He loaded his Nerf blaster, his attention fully focused on the Amazon a few feet away from him. “You forget that I have two adopted sons, Princess. Nerf guns are a staple at my house. You, on the other hand, never saw a Nerf gun before coming to Man’s World. You grew up with rocks and spears.”

“No, but I grew up with a bow and arrows,” she shot back, glancing down at the blue plastic weapon in her hand. “Not that much different, just…not as primitive.”

Bruce chuckled softly, imagining Diana running around Themyscira with a Nerf gun wreaking havoc on her Amazon sisters and her mother. He would pay money to make that happen. “You also forget that I’m a highly skilled marksman. I’ve been trained by the very best.”

“You haven’t trained with Artemis,” she pointed out, checking the chamber of her weapon to make certain it was fully loaded. She didn’t want to end up eating her words.

“You’re loss, Princess,” he said with a shrug of his left shoulder, instantly regretting it as he winced with the movement. “I won’t go easy on you just because you’re injured or because you saved my life.”

Diana grinned wickedly at him, excitement shining in her eyes with his teasing tone. She was more than pleased that he was finally talking to her. “I wouldn’t want you to. Same rules for when we spar?” 

“Winner takes all,” he agreed, gripping his weapon and taking aim.

“You’re going down, Dark Knight,” she taunted him, more than proud of herself for getting him out of his brooding mood at least for a little while. A slight smile on his face was better than the scowl that had been there all day.

“There’s an awful lot of trash talk going on with no proof of your skill yet,” he pointed out.

“I took out your laptop screen,” she reminded him. “I think that was preview enough.”

“So you have done this before?” he asked, somewhat taken aback by her cockiness.

“A few times,” she cryptically replied, keeping a wary eye on him. There was an awful lot of talking and little action so far, forcing her to keep her guard up for when he suddenly made a move. He was definitely up to something.

Bruce stared at her for a moment, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What goes on up here when I’m not around?” he demanded to know.

Diana flashed him a devious grin. “Maybe you should try spending more time on the ‘Tower for once and you just might find out.”

“Or I could just download all the security video feeds and find out that way.”

A flicker of disappointment flashed across her face, but she quickly hid it. “You have to see it in person to believe it.”

“Somehow I don’t doubt that,” he decided.

“Are we going to do this or are you just going to keep talking and wasting my time?” she asked.

“Who says I’m wasting time?”

“I think you’re scared you’re going to lose,” she triumphantly decided. “Afraid to be taken down by an Amazon?”

“You know for someone who is so banged up and battling a high fever, you sure are sassy,” he shot back with a smirk. “I think it’s time I taught you a lesson.”

“Bring it, mortal,” Diana taunted him. “I’ll try to go easy on you since you are doing battle with injuries.”

Bruce cocked an eyebrow at her brazenness. “Care to make this interesting?”

It was Diana’s turn to look at him with an air of inquisitiveness. “What did you have in mind?”

He had a lot of things on his mind that involved her, but he pushed it aside for a more acceptable answer. “Every round I beat you, you have to give me your chocolate.”

Diana glanced over at the rather large bowl of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups that Shayera had brought for her. She didn’t know if she could survive giving up her precious chocolate, but she was an Amazon warrior and an Amazon never backed down from a challenge especially from a male…a smug, irritating male.

She lifted her eyes towards Bruce, her mind working to find a loop hole in this that wouldn’t result in her giving up her chocolate. “I didn’t think you liked chocolate.”

“Everyone has a weakness for something,” he evenly responded.

“I didn’t think that the Batman had any weaknesses,” she said with a small smirk.

 _“If she only knew,”_ he thought to himself. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know, Princess.”

“What do I get when I win?”

“When?” he repeated. “You’re pretty confident. How about if I buy you a whole bag of chocolate for every round you win?”

“Deal,” she readily decided. “Who goes first?”

“Ladies first, of course,” he said.

Diana grinned broadly as she raised her gun. “By the way, when I win, I expect you to play another game with me as well as the chocolate.”

“What? That wasn’t part of the—”

She fired her weapon directly at him, a dart deflecting off his nose. “Shut it, Wayne. I just won the first round.”

Before he could respond, Diana turned and fired her weapon at the target that Flash had put on the wall, her dart sticking right in the center of the bull’s-eye. She turned back to look at Bruce only to be shot in the forehead by his gun.

“What was that for?” she asked, picking his dart up off her bed.

“You’ve already hit me—twice,” he reminded her. “Just getting a little revenge.”

Diana glared at him, stretching out her hand to point at the target she had just hit. “The target is that way.”

Bruce smirked at her, his eyes never leaving hers as he fired his Nerf gun at the target and hitting the center right next to hers. Diana glared at him. “Show off,” she grumbled.

Unable to hold back any longer, especially with the cute glare she was giving him, he unleashed a rapid succession of darts against her. She held up her hands as she ducked her head in an effort to block the attack, but failed miserably.

“Bruce!” she squealed. “You are so going to get it!”

Bruce paused long enough to reload and unfortunately paid dearly for it. A furious volley of darts rained down on him, bouncing harmlessly off his muscular body. “You started it, Princess,” he stated, returning fire as he leaned to his right to avoid her attack. “I warned you that you didn’t want any of this, but you refused to back down.”

Diana responded by throwing up her bracers to block his shots, darts flying everywhere. Even though this attack was going absolutely nowhere with no winner or loser, it was the most excitement she’d had with Bruce in a while. It was gratifying to see him actually having fun and smiling for once instead of just scowling. Even though she felt horrible from the virus that she’d been exposed to, seeing Bruce smile made it all more than worthwhile.

“What on earth is going on in here?”

Bruce and Diana both paused as if they had just been caught by the teacher, looking over to find Clark standing there in isolation with them in a hazmat suit. His hands were on his hips, a look of pure incredulity plastered on his face.

“What does it look like we’re doing?” Diana asked him.

“I know what it looks like, but I just can’t believe you got Bruce to do something so childish,” Clark stated in stunned disbelief.

“It’s not childish,” Diana maintained.

Bruce’s response came by shooting at Clark, a dart sticking to the clear plastic face plate of his hazmat suit. “Funny,” Clark mumbled as he pulled the dart free from his mask. “I take it you two are feeling all right?”

“She still has a high fever and I’m fine,” Bruce stated as he loaded his Nerf gun again.

Diana scowled at her roommate, reloading her gun as well. “You are not well, Bruce. You have a fever too so stop acting like you’re fine.”

Bruce shot at her, a threatening glare on his face. “You’re getting worse, Princess.”

She shot him again, a dart hitting him in the chin. “At least I’m not hooked up to oxygen like you are. Besides, neither of us is going to be fine unless J’onn can find a cure for this.”

“I’m not going to be taken down by some virus,” Bruce declared. “It’s going to take a lot more than that.”

“Oh, and you think that I’ll just lie down and die?” she demanded to know,, growing agitated. “I’m an Amazon warrior. I will die in battle before I allow some illness to take my life.”

“You are not going to die any time soon, Princess,” Bruce maintained, the heat in his voice betraying his feelings. “We’ll find an antidote before anything happens to you.”

“I can see that things are status quo in here,” Clark mused as he watched the two bicker back and forth. “John is going to take a sample of the contagion to Oa to see if any of the Green Lantern Corps has seen anything like it before.”

“That’s a long trip to make,” Bruce muttered. “Even if John finds something, he might not return in time to help us.”

“It’s more important that he helps protect the world,” Diana replied, her forehead creasing in thought. “If this gets released on the public, they will need an antidote no matter what happens to us.”

Bruce stared at Diana, noticing the toll this virus was beginning to take on her. Fatigue lined her eyes, her breathing a little more exerted as the fever began to take over her body. It was only a matter of time before they both grew worse.

“We’ll get through this, Princess,” he firmly stated as he laid aside his Nerf gun. “Dick was able to find some different spores that Ivy created. Barbara is in the process of analyzing them. Hopefully, it will yield some answers for us.”

Diana nodded her head, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She wasn’t afraid for herself or worried about losing her life, her fear purely for Bruce. She didn’t care what happened to herself as long as Bruce was safe.

“Well, I have to go check up on some possible leads about who else might be behind this. I’m trying to rule out the usual suspects,” Clark said, his voice cutting through the tense silence and unspoken words that would remain unsaid between two people who needed each other now more than ever. “I’ll come back and check on the two of you later. Try not to get into too much trouble.”

“Thanks, Kal,” Diana said, gathering up her ammo and setting it aside along with her gun.

Bruce noticed the change in her mood, suddenly anxious to break her free from it. “Don’t worry, Princess. I’m not going to let this take your life.”

“It’s not me that I’m so worried about,” she softly admitted, her eyes conveying what she was feeling in that moment.

He swallowed hard, sharing her fear…fear for her. “Diana, I—”

“I’m tired,” she interrupted him. “I’m going to rest for a while before dinner.”

“Do you need anything? Something for pain?” he asked, worried.

“No, thank you,” she responded with a definite shake of her head. “You need to get back to your work anyway.”

“It’s not that important,” he insisted, wanting her to talk to him.

He watched as she lay back against her pillows and closed her eyes, looking so weak. His heart was in his throat as he studied her for several long moments, wishing more than anything that he could just crawl into that bed with her and hold her in his arms, wrapping his entire body around her in an effort to protect her from the outside world as well as the virus that was slowly taking her away from him.

Except that he couldn’t. She wasn’t his and never would be…never could be. It was a decision that was more than necessary and at the same time destroying his heart.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, Happy Thanksgiving! I'm very thankful for the BMWW fandom. You guys are the best around!
> 
> Second, I just wanted to say that I had this written long before the attacks in Paris. I want to be sensitive to the feelings of others and I hope that this fic isn't offensive in any way. I tried very hard to minimize things and keep the focus on the characters and not the situations they create.
> 
> Thanks again for reading and the awesome support! :)

Chapter 10

_**Cairo, Egypt; June 20th, 18:30 EET** _

Talia made her way through the expansive complex that she had called home for the last year and half, the last eighteen months that her father had spent secretly planning how he would purify the world forever. She truly believed that her father was only doing what he felt was best for humanity; his overriding desire for a perfect world driving him to go to such extreme lengths, but it still hurt her irreparably that her beloved was not a part of these plans.

A dawning of a new era was on the horizon and she had wanted her beloved to share in their glorious achievement in every way imaginable. It had been her dream for so very long to call Bruce her husband, having him rule by her father’s side as his right-hand in the League of Shadows, one day taking over as the Demon’s Head. Unfortunately, Bruce had not seen things their way, choosing rather to abandon her for his own mission…his precious Gotham.

Why couldn’t he just see that her father’s intentions were pure and not malevolent like Bruce believed? Her father should be lauded for his efforts to cleanse the earth, not considered a villain or a man to be despised. He was a visionary, unfairly persecuted for his efforts to make the world a better place.

She was deeply wounded with how Bruce stubbornly refused to see that she had to remain loyal to her father, no matter how much she loved Bruce and wanted to be with him. He never should have abandoned her, choosing his Gotham and his mission over her.

Her anger with him burned in harmony with her love for him, a very fine line between love and hate constantly smoldering in her core. It had only been kindled since learning that Batman had so obviously moved on from her, falling in love with that damn Amazon wench. It caused her hate to burn even hotter, her need to reclaim her lost love that much more all-consuming.

It not only hurt her that Bruce had moved on, but that he had moved on so quickly, tossing her and his love for her aside as if she had meant nothing to all to him. What had he seen in that whore that had captivated him so fully? Did Wonder Woman possess something that she herself did not? She had to know what it was about her that he attracted him to her and had captured his heart.

She would not just sit back and allow that Amazon to take what belonged only to her. The thought of Bruce kissing Wonder Woman, making passionate love to her made her jealousy nearly explode inside of her as she stormed into the dining hall, rage thrumming through her veins.

“Daughter,” Ra’s al Ghul greeted her from his seat at the head of the long table. “You’re just in time to join me for dinner.”

“Father,” Talia bit out, taking her usual seat to his left.

Ra’s forehead immediately creased with concern at the sight of her so visibly upset. “What angers you, Talia?”

“I’m not angry, father,” she claimed as she grabbed her glass of wine, nearly draining it in one swallow before setting it down again. “I am merely anxious to proceed with our plans instead of hiding in the shadows like we are.”

Ra’s studied her for a long moment, his fingertips steepled in front of him as his elbows rested on the armrests of his chair. “I believe it was you who wanted us to wait out of fear of Batman discovering us,” he reminded her. “What has changed?”

Talia refused to meet her father’s probing gaze as she reached for the bottle of wine on the table before her. “Nothing has changed, father,” she evenly stated, refusing to meet his penetrating gaze. “I just know that you are determined to see this through to the end. Why put off your plans any further?”

“I must know that your loyalties are clear, Talia,” Ra’s sternly warned her. “I cannot have my very own daughter questioning my decisions or trying to secretly undermine me. You know I will not stand for it.”

Talia finally raised her eyes to meet her father’s dark stare. “I know,” she stiffly said as she began to fill her plate. “I just don’t want to see Batman crush your dreams once more. We’ve come too far to have him stop us now.”

Ra’s slowly chewed his meat, a thoughtful expression on his face as he reached over to cover his daughter’s hand with his own. “Talia, I know a part of your heart still lies with Batman and always will, but you must know that I only want what is best for you. He did not see our goal or share our vision to purify the world and, therefore, he must die along with his Justice League and his precious city.”

Talia felt an icy shudder race through her with her father’s words. She knew that he was right, but actually hearing it out loud gave it a whole new significance that her heart could not handle. “I do admit that I wish that Bruce could have seen things our way and I can’t help but hope that he still might, but you are right, father. We cannot allow him to stand in our way.”

Ra’s gently patted his daughter’s hand, a gentle smile gracing his face. “That’s my Talia,” he murmured affectionately. “You mean everything to me, my daughter, but I cannot let even you get in the way of what needs to be done now.”

“I understand and I am with you,” she reassured him as she tightened her grip on her fork in an effort to rein-in her fractured heart.

“I promise you, Talia, if I can find a way to save Batman and bring him to our side for you, I will. Do not lose hope just yet.”

“Thank you, father,” she softly whispered, unable to make her voice work in that moment.

“Ubu informed me just before dinner that everything is in place,” he revealed, changing the subject for her benefit.

“Do you really think this will work?” she asked.

“It must,” he firmly stated, his voice as well as his expression growing hard. “I will not be denied this time. Ubu reassured me that the devices are in place and ready.”

“Wouldn’t you rather wait until you discover the fate of Batman and Wonder Woman now that they have been infected with the virus?”

“I admit I would like to sit back and wait while they slowly waste away into nothing, but I must strike while the iron is hot,” he told her. “Batman will be unable to find an antidote in time to save himself or Wonder Woman let alone the world.”

“I still can’t help hoping that he survives,” she confessed with a sigh. “The Amazon, however, can rot in hell for all I care.”

Ra’s chuckled with his daughter’s obvious jealous ire. “That’s the fire I love to see in you. It’s been missing the last few days. I’m more than happy to see that it has returned with a vengeance.”

“I promise you, father, I have not lost the fire that burns within me,” she swore to him. “If anything, it burns hotter than ever.”

Ra’s didn’t doubt her words, knowing how truly deep his daughter’s feelings for the detective ran. The fact that Batman was possibly involved with the Amazon couldn’t have turned out better for him. It helped cement Talia’s loyalty to him.

He had meant what he had said to her. If Batman did manage to survive this, he would do everything in his power to turn Bruce Wayne to his side, giving him to his daughter to have for eternity. A plan began to form in his mind, one that he would have to mull over later that would help ensure Batman’s allegiance not only to him, but to his daughter.

Maybe he could even turn the Amazon to his side in the end for his own personal use, but both she and the detective would have to survive his contagion first.

_**Watchtower Isolation; June 20th, 19:26 EST** _

“What did you say the name of this movie was?”

“You’ve Got Mail,” Flash said from his chair pushed right up against Diana’s bed.

Diana watched as Meg Ryan argued with Tom Hanks, thinking they made an adorable couple. She absentmindedly reached for her iced mocha, taking a drink before grabbing a handful of popcorn from the large bowl that Flash had brought in for her.

“I hope they get together,” she commented. “They would make a cute couple.”

Bruce glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, somewhat taken aback by the princess’s comment. He never would have pinned her as being such a romantic like this. It was another facet of her personality that was so incongruous to the warrior she had been raised to be. He sometimes forgot that despite being an Amazon and capable of crushing a tank as if it was nothing more than a tin can, she was still very much a woman at heart.

“Bruce, you should watch the movie with us,” Diana encouraged him. “You need a break from that laptop of yours.”

“I’m working,” Bruce bluntly stated without looking up.

Diana tucked away her disappointment, hoping that he would change his mind. She turned her attention back to the movie and the couple on the screen. She wasn’t about to let his brooding drag her down. “Will those two get together soon?” she asked Wally.

“Just watch, Wondy,” Flash replied, distractedly reaching for the popcorn, taking a handful from her bowl only to bring it to his mouth and realize he couldn’t eat it. “Stupid isolation suit.”

Diana giggled as he threw his handful of popcorn into the trashcan. “Sorry,” she apologized. “You don’t have to stay here with me if you want to leave. I’m sure you have better things to do than to keep us company.”

“No, I want to be here with my friends,” he insisted. “Besides, Linda cancelled on me tonight.”

“I’m sorry, Wally,” Diana sympathized. “What happened?”

“She got called in to report on some breaking story,” Wally informed her, obviously disappointed.

“So it wasn’t her fault.”

“No, we’re going to go out tomorrow night instead.”

“See?” Diana replied. “You still get to go out with her.”

“Going to get pizza and a movie?” Bruce asked from his bed where he was reviewing the information that Barbara had sent to him on the new spores Dick had found.

“Hey, there is nothing wrong with pizza and a movie,” Flash claimed. “It’s been a dating staple used by millions of men for years.”

“It’s boring and overused,” Bruce stated as he continued to type. “Try being a little more creative and romantic.”

“What’s your idea of a romantic date?” Flash asked him.

Diana perked up with the question, interested in what Bruce had to say about it. “What would you do, Bruce?”

“First, you buy her roses,” he began, finally looking up from his laptop to make eye contact with Wally and Diana who were anxiously awaiting his answer, each for very different reasons. “Second, you take her to a nice restaurant with wine and candles. Then afterwards, you take her for a moonlit walk in the park or perhaps dancing, depending on the mood.”

“Sorry, Wally, but I have to agree with Bruce on this,” she told him “His idea of a date is much more romantic than just pizza and a movie.”

Bruce smiled to himself, knowing that Diana would appreciate his suggestion. It was what he would have done if he could take her out on a date. “It’ll also guarantee that you’ll get a kiss by the end of the night as well as a second date.”

A raven eyebrow arched in amusement as she glanced at the billionaire in the next bed. “Speaking from experience, Mister Wayne?”

“Not all of my reputation is fabricated, Princess,” he replied as he flashed her his patented playboy smirk.

“You sound pretty sure of yourself,” she remarked, amused.

“I do know how to woo a woman,” he told her. “I’ve been out on more dates than I can possibly count.”

“I thought you didn’t have time for such things,” she reminded him. “Something about ‘if my enemies knew I had someone special they would try to get to me through her’, if I remember your words correctly.”

Bruce’s eyes narrowed, knowing his own words were being thrown back in his face and not liking it. “I still have to keep up appearances.”

“So you’re basically leading these poor women on without having any intention of finishing what you start?” she challenged him.

“It’s a necessary evil,” he told her. “I’m Bruce Wayne. I’m expected to be seen all over town with a beautiful woman on my arm. If I don’t, people start to talk and question what I’m really doing.”

“Um, are we going to watch the movie or—” Flash cut in only to be abruptly cut off.

“So you knowingly lead a woman on, play with her heart and make her believe you actually care about her when in reality, you feel absolutely nothing for her?” Diana pressed, her ire rising by the second. 

Was he actually admitting that he had been toying with her heart for the last three years with no intention of ever returning her feelings? The thought made her blood begin to boil, her pride taking a hit. If they weren’t already in the infirmary, she would be putting him there right now.

“That’s not what I meant,” Bruce argued, turning to face her. “I don’t do it to intentionally hurt anyone. Besides, how did this become all focused on me?”

“But you admit that you do it,” she snapped, turning to face him, the movie abruptly forgotten. “You lead women on, make them believe that you might actually feel something for them when in reality it’s all just some cruel game to you.”

Her words were like a sharp slap to his face, stinging him. She had to know that he never intended to lead her on or hurt her. What he felt for her was more than real. It was a permanent part of him, filling in the broken parts and the painful gaping holes that life had carved out deep within him. He just couldn’t afford to pursue her no matter how desperately he wanted to. He couldn’t risk her life or her heart like that. He loved her too much to put her in that danger.

“I do what I have to do in order to protect my identity, but also to protect those I care about,” he ground out. “If it means breaking a few hearts, then so be it. It’s all for the greater good, allowing me to do what I need to in order to protect and save lives.”

“Oh, so you actually do care about certain people as long as they fit neatly into your mission and don’t disrupt your life in any way,” she stated, moving to stand to her feet despite her cast. “So do these women you sleep with also get breakfast before they are escorted out in the morning or do they just get a note saying thanks for a great night of sex and for helping protect my identity?”

“I don’t sleep with all of those women I go out with and you know it,” Bruce growled ferociously, growing more than a little angry as he pulled off the oxygen tubing he’d been forced to wear. Standing to his feet, he winced as his hand moved to brace his broken ribs. “I told you it’s all just an act, Diana. I’m not in love with any of them.”

“So it’s just meaningless sex then?”

“What? No!”

“So was Selina all an act too or how about Talia?”

“Uh, guys…you’re missing the best part of the mo—” Flash interjected.

Bruce swiftly closed the distance between them, anger burning in his eyes. “They were my past, not my present. There is no one in my life now. You know I can’t afford to be involved with anyone no matter how much I want to. It’s far too dangerous.”

“Oh, yes…your deadly enemies,” she snorted in feigned amusement, folding her arms against her chest. “Another ridiculous reason because you’re too scared to admit that you just might feel something or is that all part of the act too?”

Bruce began to breathe hard, his chest heaving with anger on top of the virus that was attacking his lungs. “It has never been an act with you,” he hissed. “I care about you, Diana. You are a valued friend.”

“Valued friend?” she exclaimed, matching his anger with an intensity all her own.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to go rob a bank…or maybe I’ll just shave my legs and join a circus,” Flash announced, neither Bruce nor Diana hearing him as he swiftly fled the room, fearing for his safety.

Diana was unexpectedly snapped out of her fury by the sweat that she suddenly noticed had formed on Bruce’s brow as well as how exerted his breathing had become. He was growing paler by the second, his cheeks flushed red. “Bruce, you need to get back into bed. You’re not well.”

“I’m doing better than you are,” he snapped, refusing to back down from her no matter how horrible he felt at that moment.

“What are you talking about?” she demanded, shaking her head. “I’m fine.”

“You are not fine, Princess,” he angrily stated, his worry spiking as he grabbed her by the arm. “You’re breaking out in a rash.”

Diana looked down at her arm where Bruce was holding her, noticing the red rash that had developed on her forearm. It was like someone had drawn tiny red dots all over her skin, appearing as if nothing more than a bad sunburn at first glance. Closer inspection revealed otherwise.

She snatched her arm out of his grasp. “It’s nothing,” she claimed. “I feel fine.”

His hand swiftly moved to her forehead as he brushed her hair away, stunned to find her fever had risen even higher. “Diana, you’re burning up.”

“You’re not doing much better,” she pointed out. “You need to stay on your oxygen.”

Bruce glared hotly at her, realizing they were at a stalemate in their infamous battle of wills. He growled to himself as he averted his eyes, knowing she was going to be the death of him someday. “Fine,” he spat out, returning to his bed and putting his oxygen tubing back on.

 _“J’onn, Diana’s getting worse,”_ he mentally alerted him. _“She’s breaking out in a rash now.”_

 _“I’m on my way,”_ he mentally responded.

 _“J’onn, Bruce is getting worse,”_ she silently notified him. _“He’s breathing is worsening.”_

 _“I’m on my way,”_ he mentally responded, trying to contain his chuckle.

Diana turned on her heel and climbed back into her bed, grabbing her bowl of popcorn again. She turned her attention back to the movie that Wally had brought for her to watch, doing her best to ignore the fact that the man she loved was right there in the bed next to her dying. She couldn’t bear it.

Bruce glanced at Diana, his anger still simmering inside of him. Her words had struck deep, far deeper than she could possibly have imagined. It had all been true, but that’s not what had stung the most. It was what she thought of him that mattered the most to him and, right now, she felt that he had been stringing her along for the last three years.

J’onn entered at that moment, a slight smirk curling the corners of his mouth. “What trouble have the two of you been getting into now?”

“Her fever is rising and she has developed a rash,” Bruce stated, focusing on his laptop and refusing to make eye contact with either of them.

“His fever and breathing are getting worse,” Diana said, focusing on her movie and popcorn.

J’onn looked from one patient to the other, studying each of them as they avoided even glancing at each other. The tension in the room was palpable, capable of being carved into with a knife. He wondered how the pair could possibly stand it any longer. He made his way over to Diana, checking her temperature.

“107.5˚,” he grimly revealed. “I’m going to try something else to lower your fever since what I’ve been trying obviously isn’t working. Does your rash itch?”

“No,” she sullenly replied. “I didn’t even know it was there until Bruce pointed it out.”

“Let’s keep an eye on it for now,” J’onn suggested. “Let me know if you become uncomfortable with it.”

The Martian Manhunter moved onto his next patient who had been intently listening in on everything. Checking his temperature, J’onn frowned with the results. “It’s 103.4˚. I’ll bring you something as well. How is your breathing now?”

“Fine,” he curtly responded as he continued typing, feeling as though his lungs were burning, but refusing to admit it to anyone.

“You must keep your oxygen on at all times,” J’onn insisted as he checked his oxygen level before putting the breathing tube under his nose again. “You cannot let your oxygen saturation drop. I’m afraid things are beginning to escalate for the both of you now. We need to do everything we can to ensure you stay alive until we can find a cure for you.”

Bruce clenched his teeth with the Martian’s words. Alive. How much more time would they have before neither of them was able to function anymore? It made him ill to his core to even consider the notion of Diana dying. It was something that he would fight to prevent no matter the cost to himself.

**_Gotham; June 20th, 22:32 EST_ **

Sirens blared an almost deafening scream as several squad cars raced through the streets of Gotham. Red and blue lights flashed their warning, reflecting off everything in sight as emergency rescue personnel as well as several of Gotham’s police units raced to the scene.

The bomb squad swiftly unloaded their gear from their truck, putting on their protective uniforms and masks in short order. Police officers worked to keep curious bystanders at a safe distance away from the courthouse while others placed barricades in the streets to keep traffic at bay.

“Status report,” Commissioner Gordon demanded of a lieutenant.

“A mysterious device was found in the men’s bathroom of the courthouse in the east wing by a janitorial staff member, sir,” he reported. “The janitor immediately called 911 and sealed off that wing.”

“Good,” Jim said with a grim nod of his head as he weighed his options at that moment. “Go ahead and prepare the Public Safety Squad to enter, but wait for my signal. I want to make sure this isn’t some sort of trap before sending our men in there.”

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant responded before hurrying off to notify the commander of the squad.

“Commissioner Gordon.”

Jim quickly turned on his heel to find Nightwing standing a few feet away in the shadows of a nearby building. He quickly made his way to him, more than relieved to see at least one member of the Batclan on the scene already.

“Have you got any idea about who’s behind this?” Jim asked him as he lit a cigarette.

“Could be Poison Ivy, but I need to get in there first to have a look at the device to be able to determine exactly what it is and who could be behind this,” Nightwing responded. “We’ve found some evidence recently that indicates that she’s planning something big.”

“Great,” Jim grumbled with a sneer. “How much time do you need before I send in the Public Safety Squad?”

“Give me twenty minutes. If I’m not out in that amount of time, send in your men.”

“Is Batman okay?” Jim inquired, trying not to be too noisy. When it came to the elusive Bat, information was usually scarcely given at best. “Haven’t seen him around the last few nights.”

“He’s currently dealing with a major case so I’m helping cover Gotham for the time being.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jim said with a relieved sigh. “Really appreciate the help especially if Ivy is up to no good again.”

“No problem, Commissioner,” Nightwing replied. “I’ll be back with a report soon.”

“Commissioner!”

Jim turned at the sound of his name being called to find one of his officers approaching. “Excuse me, Nightwing,” he said as he turned around only to find him gone. “He’s as bad as Batman.”

Nightwing slipped further back into the dark shadows and down the alley where Zatanna impatiently waited for him. “Let’s hurry up and get this over with,” she softly hissed at him. “I have another show to do in an hour.”

“Don’t you think that this might be a little more important than a performance?” he asked with a frown.

Zatanna glared at him, her hands finding her hips. “Listen here, bird boy,” she snapped. “My shows are all very important and very well attended too I might add. Now, granted they aren’t as important as a possible bomb, but they are still important especially to me.”

Nightwing held up his hands in front of him in defense, fighting the urge to take a step back away from her. “I never said your show wasn’t important, Zee,” Dick tried to placate her. “Let’s just get in and find out what’s going on.”

“Fine,” Zatanna wholeheartedly agreed. “Where inside of the courthouse do you want to go?”

“Just put us outside of the east wing.”

Zatanna pulled out her wand, waving it as she spoke the magical words that would take them to their destination. They found themselves standing before the closed doors that would lead them to the mysterious device that had been left behind.

Dick couldn’t help but wonder how they were able to get the device past security, but he’d have to dwell on that later. Right now, they just needed to make sure that it didn’t detonate and find out who was behind it. If it turned out to be the same contagion that Bruce and Diana had been infected with, they were in a whole new world of trouble.

“Stay close to me,” Nightwing instructed her as he inspected the doors before opening them.

Zatanna smiled at him, her annoyance with his earlier comment forgotten. “Aww, how sweet of you,” she replied. “You’re worried about my safety.”

Dick couldn’t suppress the warmth that he could feel rising to his face, suddenly wishing that his domino mask covered a lot more than just his eyes. “I just don’t want you to get blown up like Batman and Wonder Woman. Do you have a mask just in case?”

“Ksam,” she said with a flick of her wrist that held her wand.

Dick watched as a mask appeared out of thin air to cover her nose and mouth. “Good; that will work,” he told her as he pulled out his own mask to put on.

“I’m still not sure why you chose me to come along with you on a raid like this,” Zatanna said as she followed him through the large double doors into the east wing of the historic courthouse building.

“Well, Batman and Robin are unavailable,” Dick began.

Zatanna smacked his shoulder from behind. “So basically you were scraping the bottom of the barrel? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“No, of course not!” he exclaimed as they worked their way towards the men’s restroom. “I need you to help me determine who’s behind this and if Ivy had anything to do with it.”

“Okay, I guess that’s better,” she decided, her worried gaze quickly scanning the area for any signs of more trouble.

“I also need you to help me make sure there aren’t any more of these devices hidden in the courthouse somewhere,” he continued to explain.

“One hour, bird boy,” she stated. “That’s all I can give you, remember?”

“I’ll have you out of here and back on stage in forty-five minutes tops,” he reassured her, though he wasn’t feeling that optimistic at the moment. There was no telling what they were going to find in there. “Besides, we’re in desperate need of some answers about what is going on in order to help Batman.”

Zatanna shuddered as she thought about the situation that the Dark Knight found himself in now. “Poor Diana,” she muttered. “He must be driving her absolutely batty by now.”

Dick snorted in amusement as they came to a stop outside of the men’s bathroom. “Nice choice of words there, Zee.”

Zatanna grinned at him. “Thought you might like that. Now what?”

“Don’t touch anything and stay—”

“Close to me,” she finished for him. “I know…I got it. I’m not an amateur at this you know. This isn’t my first go-round with a Gotham case.”

“I know, but I’d feel terrible if something happened to you,” he admitted. “Robin’s already been grounded. I can’t take losing anymore partners right now.”

Zatanna placed a reassuring hand on Dick’s shoulder, squeezing it affectionately. “Don’t worry about me, Wing,” she told him. “I got your back.”

“Thanks, Zee,” he murmured, forcing thoughts of what had happened to Tim to the back of his mind. He couldn’t allow his guilt to distract him right now. He needed to be completely focused.

Slowly pushing the bathroom door open, Nightwing poked his head inside to find the bathroom light on, no one in sight. The only sound was that of his own breathing as he cautiously stepped inside, his right hand stretched out behind him to keep in contact with Zatanna. He wanted to make sure he knew where she was at all times.

“Where did they say the device was?” she whispered, her eyes darting nervously about as if half expecting someone to jump out and grab them.

“Last stall on the left,” he softly said.

They cautiously made their way through the large bathroom, heading straight for the last stall. He carefully placed the palm of his gloved hand on the stall door, slowly pushing it in as he drew a deep breath and finding a very large cylindrical device resting on top of the toilet.

Zatanna whistled softly at the sight of it as she moved closer to Dick, standing on her tiptoes to look at it over his left shoulder. “What is that?”

“I have no idea, but I do know that it’s nothing compared to the one that Batman said Wonder Woman had found,” he told her. “Can you use your magic to see if you can find any clues?”

“You’ll have to move aside and let me get in there closer to it,” she replied.

Nightwing frowned, not liking the idea of her getting too close to it, but they had no other options at this point. “Fine, but don’t touch it.”

“I know,” she exclaimed with growing frustration. “Do you not remember who you’re dealing with?”

“I’m not saying you can’t take care of yourself or that you’re not a gifted magician,” Nightwing told her. “I just couldn’t handle it if something happened to you.”

Zatanna leaned in and kissed him on the cheek as he pulled back to allow her entrance. “I care about you too, bird boy.”

Dick felt the warm flush returning to his cheeks again as she moved past him, raising her wand and muttering magical words. He couldn’t help but allow his gaze to wander over her petite form, appreciating the site of her shapely legs in those sexy fishnet stockings of hers while he waited for her to do her thing.

His arousal began to stir, but he quickly tamped down on it. Now was definitely not the time to be lost in lustful thoughts. “Did you find anything yet?”

“Not yet,” she muttered under her breath. “Give me a second.”

“We don’t have much time, Zee,” he reminded her. “I promised Jim we’d be out in…eleven more minutes.”

“Just give me a minute,” she grumbled in annoyance.

Nightwing leaned against the stall door, trying to wait patiently, but it was next to impossible when they had a potentially deadly situation on their hands. “Any day now, Zee.”

“Hmmm…” she softly hummed to herself, her brow knitting in thought.

Nightwing immediately straightened up, his entire body tensing. “What is it? What did you find?” he demanded with no small amount of urgency in his voice.

She was silent for several more seconds which only served to heighten Dick’s panic even more. “Your lack of response isn’t exactly very reassuring here, Zee.”

“This doesn’t appear to be your typical explosive device,” she thoughtfully spoke, more to herself than to him.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not the typical bang-boom, devastation everywhere type of device,” Zatanna explained.

“Then what is it?” he asked with a frown as he looked over her shoulder at the device.

“It’s a very well made counterfeit,” she informed him. ”It’s a decoy of some kind.”

“Oracle to Nightwing.”

Nightwing tapped his commlink. “This is Nightwing. What have you got, Oracle?”

“Situation at the Gotham Airport,” she reported. “Blue gas is filling the air. They’re in the process of evacuating everyone as we speak.”

“Damn,” he cursed under his breath. “I’m on my way. Nightwing out.”

“What is it?” Zatanna asked him.

“It’s a decoy alright,” he confirmed. “Blue gas was just released at the Gotham Airport. We’ve got to go.”

“Well, I guess I’m not doing my second show tonight,” she grumbled as she raced from the bathroom, hot on Nightwing’s heels.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**_Gotham, Abandoned Chemical Plant; June 21st, 02:56 EST_ **

Poison Ivy watched the breaking news footage of the attack that had rocked the Gotham Airport just a handful of hours earlier. Her green eyes gleamed with pleasure as she watched the sheer chaos and panic that had unfolded in the wake of the unexpected strike, the area that they were still attempting to contain.

Mesmerized, she absentmindedly reached over and took another grape from the bowl, popping it into her mouth and chewing slowly. Her eyes widened with delight as a small gasp escaped her lips, the camera slowly panning the area to show all of the emergency personnel racing about to control the situation as blue gas hung in a thick cloud over the destruction.

Everyone was dressed in white hazmat uniforms including the Public Safety Squad. It was somewhat disappointing to her, but it would only be a matter of time before those who had already been exposed began to show signs of her specially designed virus. 

Then, the chaos they were attempting to suppress at this very moment would seem so benign.

Ivy took another grape, biting into it as she caressed the leg of her lover lying in bed next to her. “You did very well, love…very well indeed.”

“I’m so glad that you approve,” Alex replied with a leering grin as his hand moved to caress her abdomen. He leaned over and placed a soft kiss to her bare shoulder, more absorbed with the beauty he was in bed with than the chaos that he’d helped create. “How soon before we make our next move?”

“Soon enough,” she reassured him as she nibbled on another grape. “Did you manage to get the other devices into place without being detected?”

“Exactly where you wanted them planted,” he confirmed as he leaned closer to nip and kiss along her throat.

Ivy’s eyes fell closed despite her desire to watch the pandemonium that she had created playing out on the television, the feel of his mouth moving along her neck stirring her need all over again. “You are definitely good…in more ways than just one.”

Alex smiled against her throat as he pressed himself fully against the length of her. “I live to please you in every way imaginable.”

Pamela purred with supreme satisfaction as she rolled over on her side to face him, her hand moving to stroke his face. “That’s what I love to hear because you and I are in this together for the long run.”

She moved to brush his brown hair from his forehead, knowing that he was only saying those things because he was under her complete control, submitting fully to her every command because of her pheromone toxin. It was rather disheartening to know that he wouldn’t say those things to her if it weren’t for her control over him and yet, at the same time, she cared very little. 

Life had dealt her a painful hand, being unable to bear children. She deserved this chance at happiness no matter the lengths that she had to go to obtain it, taking what she could get however she could get it no matter the cost. “How are your experiments coming? Any progress?”

“Making some progress, but not as much as I had hoped,” he confessed between kisses. “I’ll need some more time before our next set of spores will be ready for use.”

“I’m so glad I chose you to be my partner in crime,” she purred, her lips curling into a seductive grin. “Together, we will be the new Adam and Eve of Gotham.”

“I’d like that,” he huskily murmured with a grin. “Do you think Batman is on to us with the assault at the airport?”

“Probably, but it’s too late for him to do anything to stop us now,” she told him, luxuriating in the feel of his hands exploring her all over again. “Not even the great Batman will be able to create an antidote in time to save Gotham.”

“You are truly a brilliant woman, Pamela,” he said as his fingers stroked her hair. “You have opened my eyes to a whole new world. I’m so privileged to have been chosen by you to rule by your side.”

Ivy laughed a melodious sound that caused the plants that surrounded them in her makeshift bedroom to bounce lightly in response to the pleasant vibration. “That you are, love. Soon, Gotham will be ours and no one will be able to stop us. Not even Batman and his sidekicks will be able to prevent what is about to strike.”

The breaking news about the attack at the Gotham Airport was swiftly forgotten as both began to lose themselves in each other’s touch. Their little celebration was just the beginning, the tip of the grander scheme that lay ahead. Soon, Gotham would be a virtual paradise, a haven for all living things.

_**Wayne Manor; June 21st, 0645 EST** _

Alfred bustled around the kitchen, doing his best to keep his mind off the countless worries that besieged him at that moment, the biggest of which was currently quarantined on the Watchtower. It felt as if things were rapidly falling apart and there was no good end in sight any time soon.

Pouring a large glass of orange juice, he placed it on the tray that he was preparing for Tim, hoping that Dick would be returning soon. The last time that he had checked in had been over five hours ago, only long enough to let him know that he was fine and that he was investigating the attack at the airport.

He had checked his status several times since then through the uniform that Bruce had helped design for Nightwing, checking his vital signs and his constantly shifting position. He was just thankful that Miss Zatara had been there to assist him as well as keep a close eye on him. It didn’t hurt that she was a very resourceful magician.

Sleep had been a thing of luxury once more, escaping his grasp as he spent the night worrying about the young man as well as keeping watch over the teenager still recovering from his gunshot wound. It had also given him more time to worry about Bruce and Diana and the precarious situation they were currently in.

It didn’t help his simmering anxiety in the least when he had learned last night that Bruce was showing signs of infection. Bruce hadn’t come right out and admitted that he was beginning to decline in health when they had chatted, but Alfred had picked up on it nonetheless. Not all of his surrogate son’s skills had been learned overseas.

Between the three of them, Alfred swore that they accounted for ninety-five percent of the gray and missing hairs on the top of his head. If things didn’t begin to turn around soon, he thought for certain he would go off his trolley once and for all. Leslie would have to lock him away in Arkham with all the other insane inmates.

Of course, they had survived far worse dilemmas than this over the numerous years of Bruce gallivanting around as Batman, throwing himself into every dangerous situation he could possibly get himself into, but, at that particular moment, nothing really came to mind.

Placing a fork and knife on the tray, Alfred turned to find a weary Dick dragging himself into the kitchen with Zatanna following close behind him. Both of them looked as if they had been dragged to hell and back, neither one appearing to even register that he was present in the kitchen.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in this morning,” Alfred muttered with a frown. “Both of you sit right down and I’ll make you some breakfast.”

Dick rubbed his face with his hands in an attempt to banish the exhaustion that gripped him, but to no avail as he plopped wearily into a chair at the kitchen table. Zatanna followed suit by slipping into the chair next to him, removing her hat and setting it on the table with an audible sigh.

Alfred looked from one to the other and back again, waiting for some sort of response or information about what they had found, but neither seemed at all willing to divulge a single thing. “Are one of you going to tell me what you found or do I have to beat it out of you with my spatula?”

Dick leaned back in his chair, releasing a ragged breath. “It was horrible, Alfred. You have no idea what we’ve been dealing with all night long.”

“Yah, it sucked,” Zatanna agreed as she leaned forward to hold her head in her hands, her elbows resting on the top of the table. “Never call me in to assist you… _ever_ … _again_.”

“Oh, come on, Zee,” Dick chided her. “It was bad, but it wasn’t that bad.”

Zatanna’s head shot up out of her hands, a shocked look on her face as she stared at Dick in disbelief. “You’re kidding me, right? Were you at the same airport disaster that I was at last night?”

“Yah, but—”

“Yah, but what?” she exclaimed, incredulous. “It was a nightmare, Dick.”

“Is someone going to enlighten me?” Alfred cut in as he worked at preparing their breakfast.

“The device found at the courthouse was a decoy…a fake,” Dick informed him, angry with himself for not having caught it sooner. “The real trouble was at one of the terminals at the Gotham Airport.”

“I caught that much from the news,” Alfred dryly said, the frown on his face revealing his growing exasperation. “What did you find at the airport?”

“According to the video tapes that we were able to review, there was a man who entered the airport with a backpack,” Dick continued. “He walked past a cart with luggage, pausing to deposit it there before leaving.”

“Is there any way to identify this man?”

“He was wearing a plain black jacket, jeans and a Gotham baseball cap,” Zatanna said. “Nothing to really identify him or who he could be working with.”

“Well except that we think that Poison Ivy was behind it,” Dick added. “Zee was able to get a sample of that blue gas before she banished it to a safe place. We just had a sample sent up to the ‘Tower to be tested to see if it’s the same as what Bruce and Diana were exposed to.”

“Were there many people exposed to it?”

“We think about a dozen or so,” Zatanna answered. “They are all quarantined at Gotham General right now having tests run on them.”

“What makes you think that this is Ivy’s doing?”

“I found a couple more blues spores at the crime scene that were just like the ones that I found at the crematorium,” Dick said. “As horrible as it is, I’m hoping this will help crack the case wide open and give us the answers that we need to save Bruce and Diana.”

“I’m sure that we’ll find something to help them soon and stop this before any more people become infected,” Zatanna reassured Dick, reaching over to cover his hand with her own.

“I just wish we knew if Ivy was truly behind all of this and what she’s really up to,” Dick grumbled. “It just feels like every time we’ve finally got a lead, it blows up in our faces.”

“Literally,” Zatanna snorted in agreement.

“Any other ideas about who could be behind it?” Alfred asked.

“Bruce has been working up a psychological profile and has generated a list of suspects in case this we isn’t all Poison Ivy’s doing,” Dick told him. “He’s not convinced that it’s actually her behind all of this.”

“Well, at least Master Bruce has had something to keep him occupied while he’s confined to isolation,” Alfred commented with a small smirk as he finished making breakfast. “I can only imagine the absolute bear that he has turned into up there with not being able to do all of the analysis and investigation himself.”

Dick smiled as he nodded his head in agreement. “Relying on others to run an investigation is definitely not one of Bruce’s strongest qualities.”

“Heck, relying on anyone for anything isn’t his strong suit,” Zatanna chimed in.

“Poor Master Bruce,” Alfred tisked to himself. “Hopefully, Miss Diana will be able to break through some of those issues while she’s trapped up there with him.”

“Alfred, it would take more than a few days in isolation to make any sort of headway with Bruce,” Dick stated. “It would take years even for an Amazon.”

“Poor Bruce isn’t even here to defend himself,” Zatanna said. 

“Oh, he knows we talk about him and his issues,” Dick reassured her. “Hey, how’s Tim doing?”

“He slept all night,” Alfred replied as he set plates of food before the weary duo. “Leslie already stopped by this morning to check on him and said that his wound looked good. He should be up and about in another day or so.”

“That’s some good news we can hang on to,” Zatanna said as she eagerly dug into her breakfast.

“You should go up and see him before you leave, Miss Zatanna,” Alfred suggested. “I’m sure he’d appreciate seeing someone other than just me or Leslie.”

“I’ll run up and see him before I go home and get some sleep,” she readily agreed. “I can’t stay long, though. I’m about to fall asleep in my scrambled eggs.”

“I’ll go up and check on him too, but later,” Dick remarked. “I need to eat and get back down to the cave to see if Barbara has made any progress with analyzing that second set of spores that I sent her.”

“You need to get some sleep, Dick,” Zatanna told him. “You look like you’ve been run over by a truck.”

Dick looked up from his plate to scowl at her. “Gee, thanks, Zee. You sure do know how to make a guy feel good about himself.”

Zatanna reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder as Alfred picked up Tim’s breakfast tray and discreetly exited the kitchen. “I’m just saying that you need to look after yourself as well. You’re not going to do anyone any good if you run yourself ragged right now.”

Dick smiled despondently at her. “I know, but we can’t lose Bruce over some stupid virus. I know we’ve had our differences over the years, but I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost him.”

“I know,” she replied with a sympathetic nod. “Bruce is too stubborn to let something like this take him out and so is Diana. In fact, I think they are two of the most stubborn people in the whole universe.”

“It’s just hard to think of him not coming back you know?” Dick confessed. “Even when we weren’t getting along, I just always knew that he’d be there if I ever needed him. Not matter happened, Bruce was just always there whether you wanted him to be or not.”

She could easily see the guilt that weighed on him, his thoughts taking him to past mistakes and angry differences between surrogate father and son. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, Dick. We won’t give up until we’ve found an antidote for them. Gotham needs you now more than ever and so does Bruce.”

“Thanks, Zee,” he softly said. “You were a huge help tonight. I’m really sorry you had to miss your second show. I know that was hard for you.”

Zatanna flashed him a warm smile as she shrugged a shoulder of indifference. “Actually, last night turned out far more exciting than my show ever would’ve been. It was fun running around with you. We should do it more often.”

Dick leaned in a little closer, his lips curling with pleasure and the sudden change in tone. “It was fun running around with you too. Maybe we can run around together again sometime soon when this is all over.”

Zatanna leaned in as well. “I think I’d really like that.”

“Oracle to Nightwing.”

Dick groaned in frustration as he pulled back from Zatanna, reaching for his commlink. “What is it, Oracle?”

“I think you’re going to want to see this.”

**_Watchtower Isolation; June 21st, 07:21 EST_ **

Diana sat propped up in her bed eating her breakfast, her attention solely fixed on the man who was standing a few feet in front of her bed. She couldn’t help but be captivated and fascinated by the perfectly sculpted specimen that was methodically working his way through his Tai Chi exercises.

She studied his every movement, the slow steady sweep of his right arm, the practiced grace with which his chiseled body obeyed his every command. There was such a profound strength in him that went far beyond just the physical, encompassing the mental and emotional as well.

She couldn’t help but watch the way that he moved, blocking out the pain that she knew that he had to be in at that moment. He pushed himself through it, though, not even pausing in his exercises to take a break. If it weren’t for the rare winces that her meta hearing picked up on or the variances in his breathing, no one would probably even suspect it.

But she knew. Although difficult to read even on a good day, there were some things that she just knew about him. They were so similar in so many ways that some aspects about him were more than obvious to her. She just wished that she could read his heart as well. It was the one thing about him that was a complete enigma to her, something that he kept carefully hidden from everyone.

Bruce pushed away the throbbing pain that thrummed through his body, compartmentalizing it as he worked his way through the exercises that he had done for years now. It helped to clear his mind, helped him to focus and provided him with a measure of clarity. He needed that now more than ever and not just because of the urgent need to discover who had created the virus that was trying to take them out.

Some of it had to do with the woman lying in the bed behind him; the one that he could feel studying his every move. Her gaze was practically burning straight through him, peeling back the layers of distrust and anger, his insecurities and fears, the bitterness and loneliness. It both excited him and scared him to no end. As badly as he wanted her, he knew that he could never have her for his own.

It certainly wasn’t helping him being quarantined with her for who knows how long. The longer that he was here with her, the more tenuous his hold on his self-control was rapidly becoming. He had always prided himself on his gritty determination and drive, his iron will and control that could withstand anything that life threw at him—except for her.

The Princess of the Amazons had proven to be his greatest weakness. He’d never truly had an Achilles’ heel until she had burst into the world, larger than life and shining brighter than the sun. While he knew that he and the world were far better off because of her and for knowing her, it certainly didn’t help him in his decision to avoid developing any romantic feelings with anyone. He’d decided long ago that love was something that he couldn’t afford in his life, dedicating himself fully to his mission.

However, his feelings for her had been steadily growing stronger over the last several months and he had to put a stop to it no matter how hard it was going to be for both of them. Once this was resolved and she was no longer in danger, he was cutting all ties with her as well as the Justice League. He had allowed things to go on long enough, allowed himself to become too emotionally involved with her.

He would continue to provide financial funding and support to make sure that the League and the Watchtower were able to continue functioning for many years to come, but as far as Batman was concerned, he’d never be a member again. Gotham would become his sole focus once more.

Bruce knew that Diana and Clark would be furious with him and try their best to talk him out of it, but his mind was made up. There was nothing that anyone could do or say that would cause him to come back. It was for the best for all of them, but most of all for her.

“Bruce, you need to rest,” Diana said, breaking into his thoughts that had been storming around her. “You’re in no condition to be doing that right now.”

“We’ve already had this discussion. You need to worry about yourself instead of me,” he darkly rasped without a pause in his exercises or to even look back at her.

Diana glared at his back as he continued his exercises, thoughts of throwing her breakfast tray at him momentarily flitting through her mind. She was mad at J’onn for giving him enough oxygen tubing to allow him to get up and walk around isolation without having to be forced to stay in bed.

Before she could begin to come up with a response for him, he spoke again. “Glaring at me isn’t going to make me stop either, Princess.”

Diana’s fingers curled around the edge of her tray, her irritation with him expanding by the second as she began to wonder if the man truly did have eyes in the back of his head. She didn’t know how he always managed to get under her skin so quickly. No one got to her like he always seemed able to do, igniting her irritation.

“Fine,” came her clipped response. “Then teach me Tai Chi.”

“What?” Bruce froze in the middle of a move, turning around to find her already climbing out of her bed much to his frustration.

“You promised to teach me Tai Chi,” she repeated, hobbling over to him.

“When was that?” he demanded with a heated glower.

“After our sparring session a couple of weeks,” she reminded him, wincing as she accidently put too much weight on her broken leg. She paused for a moment to catch her breath before continuing to make her way towards him.

“Yah, because you’re in great condition to be doing Tai Chi right now,” Bruce icily retorted with a sneer. “You’re in too much pain to be doing these moves. Go back to bed and rest.”

“I’m no worse than you are,” she shot back, undaunted. “Now, show me how you did that last move.”

Bruce scowled angrily at her, his expression dark and threatening as he folded his arms against his chest. “No.”

Diana rolled her eyes, her hands coming to rest on her hips. “Your big bad threatening Batglare won’t work on me, Bruce. It never did before and it definitely won’t this time. Now, did you start with your weight on the ball of your left foot?”

“You are the most infuriating, obstinate person I have ever met,” he angrily growled, refusing to back down as well.

“Funny,” she stated, unruffled by him. “You just described yourself. I guess you know how I feel dealing with you all the time.”

They pair glared angrily at one another, neither willing to back down at that moment. Bruce stared at her, his heated gaze boring into her equally obstinate blue eyes. He knew in that instant that he wasn’t going to win this battle. He never seemed to win when it came to a battle of wills with her.

“Fine,” he growled, his arms falling to his sides as he studied her. “If you have more pain because of this, it’s not my fault. I will have no sympathy for you.”

“I never asked for your sympathy,” she retorted. “Now, start at the beginning.”

Bruce turned away from her, a scowl still firmly in place. “Weren’t you paying attention when you watched me go through some of them a few minutes ago?”

The cocky arrogance of the billionaire came through with his question, inflaming her anger even more. “I was too busy trying to figure out the best way to get you back into your bed without breaking you in two.”

“You had your chance to break me at the compound and I’m still standing, Princess,” he smugly reminded her. “I’ll guarantee you won’t get a second chance.”

Diana’s raven eyebrow cocked at his arrogance. “Oh really?” she responded. “And what do you know that I don’t know?”

Bruce instantly regretted his choice of words. Piquing the princess’s suspicions now would only make isolation that much more unbearable especially if she discovered what he was planning to do when this was all over.

“Nothing,” he curtly said with a shake of his head. “We’re going to start with something simple.”

“Bruce, you don’t have to go easy on me,” she stated. “I’m not going to break.”

“I know,” he replied, a measure of his annoyance diminishing. It wasn’t her fault that he was struggling with his self-control and the feelings that she always managed to inflame within him. “You need to know the basics before you can move on to the more complicated exercises.”

Diana studied him for a moment before finally speaking again. “Alright, go ahead.”

“I’ll teach you Tai Chi if you promise me two things,” Bruce told her, turning to face her again.

Diana’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she was intrigued nonetheless. “Let me hear them and then I’ll decide if I agree to them or not.”

“First, you will stop if you have too much pain,” he said. “Second, you promise to teach me your Amazonian exercises.”

She thought for a moment, coming to a decision. “I agree to both of your terms.”

“Good,” he murmured with a smirk of victory. “Let’s begin then.”

Diana moved to stand next to him, more than ready to learn. It helped to get her mind off the perilous situation they found themselves in, her fear for Bruce growing with every day that passed. He refused to concede the fact that he was steadily worsening, but she could see it and it scared her.

“Follow my lead,” he told her as he slowly began to take her through each move.

He watched as she followed his instructions, noticing the graceful way that she moved. Though broken and battered, she held so much power within her frame and yet maintained such femininity. She was all warrior and, at the same time, very much all woman. Mostly definitely all woman.

She was the perfect dichotomy of strength and sensuality, beauty and fortitude. She never ceased to amaze him no matter what she did, captivating him with how she approached everything in life from a fierce battle to a friendly sparring match. She was so unlike any other woman that he had ever known.

“Good,” he told her. “Keep your left elbow up.”

“Like this?”

“Yes,” he confirmed with a nod of his head. “Now, turn like this…bringing your arm around.”

Diana mimicked his move precisely, doing her best to hide the pain she was in. Her leg was throbbing mercilessly, but she ignored it. She finally had Bruce focusing on something other than the case for a little while and she was going to make sure it lasted for as long as possible.

There wasn’t anything that he could do from quarantine on the Watchtower and yet the obstinate man thought that he should have been able to solve the case and create an antidote for the virus they had been exposed to. This was so far beyond his control, although she knew that he carried the full burden of the guilt of it all on his shoulders. They were both going to have to trust in their friends to come through for them this time.

Bruce frowned as he watched her careful movements, knowing that she was in pain. The stubborn Amazon wasn’t about to stop for a moment no matter how much it was hurting her. He had warned her that he wouldn’t have any sympathy for her, but knew that wasn’t true. It was his fault that she had been blown up in the first place.

He felt absolutely helpless isolated up here, unable to investigate this case or work on creating an antidote for whatever it was that was trying to kill them. Relying on others to do something that he did best, knowing that the life of the woman that meant everything to him hung in the balance made him ill to his core.

“Nightwing to Batman. Gotta talk to you, Bats.”

“What is it, Nightwing?” Bruce asked, turning away from Diana. “Do you have something on the attack at the airport?”

“What attack?” Diana exclaimed as she turned towards Bruce, her eyes wide in shock.

Bruce had the decency to at least look chagrined for not telling her about what had happened last night in Gotham, but his city was his business, not hers. Besides, there was no substantial proof yet that what was happening with Gotham and Poison Ivy was connected in any way with what they were going through now.

“I found a couple more spores at the airport similar to what I found before at Ivy’s last known hiding place,” he revealed. “Oracle analyzed them and they are identical to the spores at the crematorium. Zatanna was able to get a sample of the blue gas we found at the airport. I’m sent it up for J’onn to examine and compare with what you and Diana were exposed to.”

“Any reports yet on the people that were exposed?”

“Gotham General is still running tests on the dozen or so that were exposed,” Dick revealed. “Hopefully, we’ll know something later today.”

“Do we have any evidence that Ivy is involved in this?”

“Not yet, but I still think she’s going to be our best bet.”

“I’m not so sure about that, but for now she’s our top priority,” Bruce told him. “We can’t let her infect Gotham.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” he flatly stated.

“Yah right you’re fine,” Dick grumbled. “You could be bleeding to death and you wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“I’m having some shortness of breath…that’s all,” Bruce relented with a huff of annoyance.

“Now, was that so hard?” Dick asked, amusement lacing his voice. “How’s Diana? Are you driving her crazy yet?”

Bruce glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, noting the way she was staring him down with a very irritated expression gracing her face. He knew he was in for a very stern lecture when his conversation with Dick was over.

“She’s as annoying and stubborn as ever,” Bruce muttered as he momentarily returned her glare. “How’s Robin?”

“Better,” Dick replied. “Should be up and around in the next couple of days.”

“Keep me posted,” Bruce stated, his voice all Bat and all business. “Batman out.”

“You are going to start at the beginning and tell me every single thing that you’ve been hiding from me,” Diana threatened him, her fierce glare actually making him a little hesitant.

“I don’t even know for sure if it’s connected to what is happening to us,” Bruce told her as he began to make his way to his bed.

A sudden wave of dizziness swept over him, making his legs feel like rubber. He felt himself begin to fall only to have a strong hand grasp his upper arm and keep him upright. He turned to look into Diana’s concerned face.

“I’ve got you,” she softly murmured, fear brimming in her blue eyes instead of anger. She helped him climb into his bed, pulling his covers up over him. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”

“I just got a little dizzy,” he confessed, squeezing his eyes shut against the nausea roiling through him with the dizziness.

“That was not a little dizziness,” Diana countered. “You almost fell, Bruce. I’m calling J’onn.”

Bruce instantly reached out and grabbed her hand, keeping her from leaving him. “Don’t…it’s starting to pass.”

Diana studied for him a moment, her lips pursed in disagreement as she settled into the chair at his bedside. He didn’t look like he was doing any better. He looked pale and his breathing was ragged again despite the fact he still had his oxygen on.

“You’re going to be the death of me, Bruce Wayne,” she murmured, sadness permeating her eyes.

Bruce gave her his patented playbook smirk in an attempt to reassure her. “Feeling is more than mutual, Princess.”

“You are going to tell me everything that you’ve been hiding from me,” she sternly told him. “Now, start with the attack in Gotham.”

Bruce sighed wearily, knowing that he wasn’t going to win this battle either. In fact, he wondered if he was ever going to be the victor when it came to battles with her. He knew there was one battle that he wasn’t going to let her win. He could not lose the battle for his heart or it would only lead to heartache and grief for her.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**_Watchtower Isolation, June 21st, 12:12 EST_ **

Diana did her best to keep her emotions in check, but it was next to impossible when the man that she cared about was lying unconscious with a high fever. The last four hours or so had been the longest of her entire life, waiting and wondering and praying that he would wake up, to look at her again with those intense blue eyes that stirred such a whirlwind of feelings within her that she could hardly breathe sometimes.

She kept waiting for him to wake up and level her with that ridiculous batglare as if that had ever worked on her or give her that cocky grin of his that she loved far more than she cared to admit. She had no doubt that he would tell her he was perfectly fine the moment he woke, but she knew that he wasn’t fine and he wasn’t going to be unless they could find a cure for this.

She took the washcloth from his forehead again, dipping it into the bowl of cold water and ringing it out before replacing it. She couldn’t take her eyes off him for long, refused to leave his side. She feared if she did he would disappear, leaving her and never coming back. She couldn’t begin to cope with that.

Another pleading prayer was made by the Amazon, another goddess’s silent response received. 

Diana knew that she shouldn’t, but she cared for him far more than she should, more than anyone else in the world. It was in a way that she’d never experienced before, feelings that were thrilling and frightening and confusing all at the same time and she didn’t quite know how to deal with it. 

It went against absolutely everything she had ever believed in, the Amazonian heritage that had been ingrained into her from the moment life had been breathed into her clay form. She should hate this man at best, respect him as nothing more than a teammate at worst. Her feelings, though, ran far deeper than just respect, stronger than just admiration for his skills and abilities. 

She loved Bruce with her whole being and not just as a mere friend. It was all-consuming and fierce…real. The sensations that raced through her body when she looked at him, the things that played out in her mind as she slept at night definitely fell far beyond the boundaries of a simple friendship or companionship between colleagues.

She felt her cheeks begin to grow warm with the sensual reminder, how very un-Amazon…how unbecoming of a princess her thoughts and dreams turned into when it came to Bruce. She felt her heart begin to beat a little harder as she lightly caressed his cheek, losing herself in her thoughts. She longed to discover for herself what lay beneath that black Kevlar, to feel his skin beneath her fingertips. She wanted to feel the heat of his kisses fueled by the passion that she knew that he kept a very tight restraint on. She wanted to feel him unleash it fully upon her like a fierce storm invading her body and soul, holding nothing of himself back.

It was a passionate storm that she would readily welcome, knowing that it would be beyond anything she could ever imagine. He was full of such raw masculinity, possessing a good heart despite the tragedy that often marked his life. He amazed her beyond anything else in this world, capturing her attention and respect and, somehow along the way, her heart as well.

Despite her beliefs, despite her mother’s fury that she’d surely incur, she wanted Bruce to have every part of her, to accept her heart in return. If he’d only give them a chance, she knew with every fiber of her being they could have something so magical together.

“Come back to me, Bruce,” she whispered as she fought back the fear that was so unbecoming of an Amazon warrior as her fingers repeatedly stroked his hair.

Diana couldn’t help but stare at his handsome face, the angular cut of his jaw, his chin full of so much pride, the lips that she ached to feel pressed against hers. She’d had the privilege of tasting those lips once, but the circumstances had been dire, the moment all too brief for her liking.

She could still hear her apology followed by his deep baritone response. She remembered the way his blue eyes had darkened in that instant, hinting at something more but left unspoken and hanging in the air between them. In the next moment, his gaze had returned to the fierce determination of the hero at heart that he truly was—all razor-sharp focus and single-minded in his duty with no room for anything more in life.

She had dreamed of that kiss for many nights after, relishing in the fact that Bruce had actually kissed her back for a brief moment, how it had lasted a heartbeat longer than had been necessary. She had hoped that maybe he had felt something for her too after that, but nothing more had ever happened between them. She had eventually convinced herself that he had only been playing a part like he did every time that he went out into Gotham as the billionaire playboy.

Diana couldn’t help but still hold out hope for more despite telling herself that she needed to let him go, forget the fact that her heart would never be her own again. He’d never let her in and even if he did feel something for her in return, he’d never fully allow them a chance to be together.

He was too afraid, too broken, too dark, too filled with rage. Issues he had told her…lots of issues.

She was abruptly torn from her troubled thoughts by the sound of Bruce softly muttering something that sounded a lot like her name, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up. She took the washcloth from his forehead as relief began to sweep aside a small degree of her worry, wetting the cloth once more before applying it to his forehead. She didn’t know how much it was actually helping, but it made her feel as though she was doing something for him.

“Hera, please save him,” she murmured to herself, eyes growing moist despite her best efforts to rein-in her emotions. She hated feeling so weak and out of control like this. It was so unbecoming of an Amazon warrior.

“Diana, you should rest for a little while,” J’onn suggested from behind her. “You’ve been by his side for hours.”

“No, I’m fine,” she softly claimed, hooking a raven lock behind her ear.

J’onn rested a gloved hand on her shoulder. “We both know that is far from true, Diana. You are worsening as well, far more than even Bruce at this moment.”

“I don’t care about myself, J’onn,” she insisted. “All that matters is Bruce. I need him to be all right. I can’t bear the thought of him…”

Her voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. The thought alone was too painful to even consider without giving voice to it. She closed her eyes against the hot tears forming, forcing them back down. J’onn squeezed her shoulder, lending her his comfort in that moment.

“I will not give up until I have found an antidote for this virus,” J’onn reassured her.

Swallowing hard, Diana nodded her head in acknowledgement. “I know, J’onn. We really appreciate all that you’ve done so far. You’ve been working night and day with little rest, taking care of us and working to create an antidote at the same time.”

“I fear that I might not be enough,” he confessed as he began to withdraw his hand.

Diana captured his gloved hand in hers, turning to meet his remorseful gaze. “No matter what happens, J’onn, I don’t want you to ever blame yourself. We know that you did all that you could for us. All that matters is that you stop this before it infects anymore people.”

“I am not giving up and neither should you, Diana,” J’onn stated.

Releasing his hand, she turned her attention back to Bruce still lying unconscious in the bed before her. “Never,” she murmured. “I’m not giving up on either one of us.”

“Please consider getting some rest,” he attempted again. “I believe Flash will be arriving with your lunch soon.”

“Thank you, J’onn,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

J’onn left her alone with Bruce, feeling more than a little weary himself. It had been a very long four days, ones that had seen very little progress in the creation of an antidote while his friends, on the other hand, were becoming worse by the day. He feared time was definitely the greater enemy in all this.

He paused to look back at Diana as she reached for Bruce’s limp hand, holding it in hers as she tended to him with a cool washcloth. He hoped that they would get the break they needed soon for both of their sakes. He wanted them to have the opportunity of a life together, but he feared that chance was rapidly slipping through their fingers.

Flash arrived at that moment with two trays in hand, noticing how much worse Bruce looked as he gazed at his friends through the observation window. “J’onn, please don’t tell me that Bruce…”

“No, I had to sedate him,” he revealed. “He had a febrile seizure. I’m working on bringing his fever down again.”

Flash shook his head as he handed the two trays over to the Martian Manhunter. “How much longer are they going to be able to hang on?”

“I wish I knew,” J’onn replied with a sigh. “I just hope that John and Shayera will return with some answers before it’s too late.”

“There’s got to be something else we can do for them,” Flash stated in a rare moment of heated frustration. “We can’t just sit back here and wait for them to die.”

“I’m doing all I can for them, but I fear it’s not enough” J’onn told him.

Flash’s shoulders sank with realization. “I didn’t mean that you weren’t, J’onn. I just feel so useless.”

J’onn nodded as he turned to take the lunch trays in to his patients. “As do the rest of us, Flash. I fear that I’m not going to be enough to help them.”

Flash felt bad for the Martian as he watched him enter the isolation room of the infirmary, feeling more discouraged than ever. Things just seemed to be going nowhere but worse now. Bruce and Diana were getting sicker and there wasn’t anything any of them could do about it.

J’onn set the lunch trays down on one of the tables by Bruce’s bed, sensing how Diana was struggling greatly with her emotions. She had always been a very passionate person at heart, her emotions intense no matter the situation. That was the way that she had always been—facing everything with her whole being, holding nothing of herself back.

While on a much more reserved level, Bruce was actually the same way, giving everything he had to everyone else but himself. He and Diana were far more alike than anyone really realized. “Diana, please eat something.”

“I’ll eat later,” she muttered, her attention focused on tending to Bruce.

J’onn only nodded his head, knowing it was pointless to argue with her. She was just as stubborn as Batman was. He silently exited isolation, leaving Diana alone with her thoughts and an unconscious Bruce. He just hoped that this would open Bruce’s eyes, giving him the courage to give Diana a chance to explore the feelings that they shared when this was all over.

Diana gently wiped Bruce’s brow, her worry for him continuing to swell. It was unnerving to see him like this. He was just always there with them—larger than life, never letting anything stop him or keep him down. He had been shot, stabbed, beaten and broken, but he had always survived it. Now, he was being taken down by a virus.

“I love you, Bruce,” she whispered as she stroked his hair, pressing her lips against his temple.

She was met by several minutes of silence before Bruce slowly opened his eyes. He felt somewhat disoriented, his vision blurry. His head was hammering relentlessly to the point that he could hardly keep his eyes open, the light of the infirmary making it hurt worse. He forced himself to keep his eyes open despite how heavy his eyelids felt in order to see what was happening.

He felt a cool cloth against his forehead, making him wonder what was going on. He remembered teaching Diana Tai Chi, receiving the update from Dick about Gotham, talking to Diana about the attack at Gotham Airport last night…and then nothing.

“Thank Hera…you’re awake,” she nearly cried, trying to swallow back her emotions.

The sweet melodious sound of her voice was so soothing, not only to his pounding head, but to his heart. He felt incredibly hot as he turned his head to look at her. He wanted to see her beautiful face, to lose himself in her ocean blue eyes.

“What happened?” he mumbled.

His voice sounded weak…hoarse to his ears, making him wonder what in the world had happened to him. His eyes fell closed despite his best efforts to keep them open, the feel of the cool cloth against his forehead like an oasis to his fevered body, her nearness filling him with a sense of contentment.

“Your fever spiked causing you to have a seizure,” she told him.

She did her best to keep her fear and worry from reaching her voice, but knew that she had failed miserably. He had noticed it. She could see it in his gaze, the way the fine lines around his eyes tightened. It was a telltale sign that he had noticed something she didn’t want him to see.

“How long was I out for?” he asked, trying to sit up only to be stopped by her hands pressing lightly against his chest.

“Over four hours so stay down,” she told him. “J’onn had to sedate you while he worked to bring your fever down.”

“I’m fine now,” he tried to tell her, but failed miserably as he tried to move only to groan in response. His whole body hurt—from the top of his head to his toes.

“You are not going anywhere, Bruce Wayne,” Diana firmly stated, her expression showing her determination as well as her worry. “You nearly gave me a heart attack with that seizure.”

“I’m sorry I scared you, Princess,” he softly replied, hating to make her worry about him as he took her hand in his. “I’m better now…I swear.”

“Right,” she said with a roll of her blue eyes. “Remember who you’re talking to here. Whether you like it or not, I know you, Bruce. You always push yourself too far, but I’m not about to let you do it this time. You’ll have to get through me first if you think you’re going to get out of this bed any time soon.”

Bruce sat up a little further in his bed, closing his eyes again in an effort to alleviate the dizziness that made the room spin around him. Diana noticed the way he paled, sweat beading on his brow again. She dipped her cloth in the cold water once more, ringing it out before wiping across his forehead, down along one cheek and then the other.

“Do you want me to get J’onn?” she asked, fear lacing her voice.

“No, I’m okay,” he insisted, opening his eyes in an attempt to ease her worry.

Diana didn’t believe him for one moment, but decided to give him a few minutes to wake up. He still seemed tired and weak, but it was to be expected after what had happened to him this morning, the way that he had been pushing himself every since they woke up in isolation.

“Are you hungry?” she asked as she reached for his tray on his bedside table.

Bruce looked at her, giving her his famous playboy smirk. “If I say yes, will you feed me?”

Diana tried her best not to smile in response to his flirty request, but she could feel the corners of her mouth rebelling against her. She was just so relieved that he was awake and seemed back to his usual self once more.

“Now I know you’re beginning to feel better,” she said as she got up and maneuvered his bedside table in front of him so he could eat.

She moved to his side, helping him sit up a little more, adjusting the pillows behind him as she raised the head of the bed for him. Bruce glanced at her, noticing the worry that still permeated her face; the moisture glistening in her eyes that she refused to allow to fully form. He shared that same fear for her, had been harboring it in his soul since he had first woken in the infirmary four days ago and saw her lying in that bed so broken.

“I could get used to being taken care of by a beautiful woman,” Bruce flirted as he studied her face for a reaction, hoping to erase the fear and ease her worry over him.

“I’m sure you could,” she evenly replied as she sat down in her chair at his bedside with her own tray, more than ready to eat now that Bruce seemed to be doing better. “I guess you’ll need to buy Alfred a dress then.”

Bruce chuckled with her retort as he picked up his spoon, relieved that the headache was subsiding. He was beginning to feel a little better, able to think more clearly. “I doubt Alfred would look as good as you do in a dress. He has really skinny legs.”

It was Diana’s turn to laugh in response, nearly choking on her soup with the image of the prim and proper British butler in a dress. “I’m sure he’d take issue with the whole idea of a dress. I have a feeling that could be the straw that finally breaks the cow’s back.”

“Camel’s back,” he corrected her with a fond smirk.

“Whatever,” she murmured with a shake of her head as she leaned over to place her cup of chocolate pudding on his tray, causing him to frown with her action. 

“What is that for?”

“You always end up asking me if I’m going to eat my chocolate pudding so I’m beating you to the punch,” she told him. “I just never would have guessed that the famous Bruce Wayne had a weakness for chocolate pudding.”

“Well, Alfred thinks that he buys it for Tim, but it’s actually me who sneaks into the kitchen and eats it,” he admitted, suddenly realizing that she was the first person he had ever confessed that to. Not even Alfred knew…or at least he liked to believe.

“He seems pretty observant to me. I doubt you could ever truly fool Alfred,” Diana remarked as she ate her soup.

“Probably not, but he pretends to buy it for Tim, I pretend that I don’t like it and Tim is completely oblivious,” he told her, skipping his soup and reaching for his pudding cup.

Diana shook her head in amusement, her raven curls bouncing slightly with the movement. “You never cease to amaze me.”

“Feeling is more than mutual, Princess.”

They ate in companionable silence for several minutes, both with things lingering in their minds that they wanted to say to each other, but neither knowing how or where to begin. “Did I miss anything while I was out?” he asked.

“Lantern reported in to let us know that they are convening today at Oa to see if any other Lanterns have seen this virus before,” she informed him. “Hopefully, one of the Lantern Corps members will know something about all of this.”

Bruce’s expression shifted from thoughtful to skeptical as he thought through it. “I hope they find something, but I fear that’s not going to be the whole answer. I have a feeling there are more pieces to this puzzle than we know about.”

Diana’s forehead creased, apprehension clenching her heart. “What do you mean?”

“I think I know who is behind this contagion,” Bruce admitted, his voice returning to that familiar deep rasp of the Bat that was all business.

“Poison Ivy?”

“No, it’s not her,” he told her, finally revealing the thoughts that he had been having. “This is far bigger than just her.”

“What about the attack at the Gotham Airport?”

“That is most likely Ivy’s doing, but I fear what is going on with us is far bigger…on a much grander, global scale than just whatever it is Ivy’s planning. This is someone else entirely, someone with a greater hatred for humanity.”

The alarm unexpectedly sounded on Bruce’s laptop, causing both of them to look over at it. Bruce immediately pushed his tray away, reaching for the bedside table with his laptop resting on top of it. He quickly began typing, a furious expression forming on his face.

“Bruce, what is it?” Diana asked, sitting forward to get a better look at his computer screen.

“I figured out a way to crack the encryption on that USB drive Wally found,” he told her as he scanned through the information he’d found. “It took a lot of time, but it looks like the program I created has finally been able to break through it and discover what is on it.”

“What did you find on it?” Diana asked, growing anxious. He was taking far too long explaining things, leaving details out. She didn’t like being kept out of the loop like this.

“It contains dates, times, and some coordinates, but some of it appears to be protected by a second level of encryption,” he revealed as he continued to type.

“For what?”

“I think its release dates and places for the bioterrorism agent that we were exposed to,” he stated, a sick knot forming in the pit of his stomach. “It also has very specific instructions for handling and dispersing the contagion.”

“Are there any instructions on how to stop it or cure it?” she asked.

“No, not that I can find yet,” he rasped. “This seems to be focused mostly on getting it out into the population. I think that black material that I found is to be worn along with the gasmasks by those setting up the devices to help protect them from exposure.”

“This can’t be happening,” she murmured, her heart aching for the countless lives that could be affected by this dangerous agent if they didn’t get out of here soon. “We have to get down there and stop this before people are hurt.”

Bruce looked up sharply at her as she stood to her feet, noticing the fierce determination that had settled in her face as well as her posture. “You are not going anywhere, Princess, and neither am I. You know that we’re both contagious. We can’t risk infecting anyone else right now.”

“Then we have to get Kal and Flash down there right away,” she said as she began to pace back and forth beside his bed, hobbling on her casted right leg that throbbed relentlessly, but she ignored it. “Every Leaguer who is not needed on critical missions is needed down there now.”

“Diana, we will stop this,” Bruce reassured her, reaching out and grabbing her hand. “We won’t let anyone else become infected.”

“And what about our friends?” she softly asked, but her voice was no less determined as she looked down at their joined hands, the way that his thumb was caressing the back of her hand. “How will we be able to keep them from ending up in here with us?”

Diana lifted her eyes to meet his gaze, unable to hide the very real fear she felt pumping through her system along with the fierce need to be in the heat of the battle to save the people of Earth. Right now, though, neither of them could be where they wanted…where they needed to be most.

**_Los Angeles, California; June 21st, 11:37 PST_ **

“Okay, Batman, I’ve got it,” Superman acknowledged him over his commlink. “We’ll begin our search. I’ll let you know as soon as we find anything. Superman out.”

The Man of Steel turned towards Flash and Vixen, drawing a deep breath before addressing them as they waited at the end of an alley. “We need to be caution about this,” he began. “We don’t want to create a scene or attract any unwanted attention.”

“I think it’s a little late for that, Supes,” Flash pointed out, using his chin to indicate the numerous passersby who were gawking at them on the crowded streets of Chinatown in Los Angeles.

“I just mean that we should not incite any unnecessary panic,” he clarified. “We need to keep this as quiet as possible.”

“Maybe we should have come incognito instead of standing out in our uniforms,” Wally said, looking down at his bright red uniform.

“We don’t have time for that,” Vixen reminded him. “If the information that Batman discovered is correct, we only have a couple of hours to find it and dispose of it before it releases the virus.”

“I wish we had more time,” Flash groused, rubbing the back of his neck. “This is going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”

“We have plenty of time,” Superman assured him. “Batman was able to narrow down the coordinates to this part of Chinatown.”

“And what about Haiti?” Vixen inquired, her concern more than evident.

“Aquaman is heading up a mission to Haiti right now,” Superman replied. “Batman isn’t positive that there’s a real threat there yet, but we can’t take any chances. Even though he was able to break the encryption on the USB drive, some of the information had a unique coding all its own, making it difficult to narrow the locations down more.”

“This is insane,” Flash said, shaking his head. “We gotta stop this nut-job.”

“Batman is still working on trying to figure out who created this bioterrorism agent as well as trying to break through the second tier of security he uncovered on the USB drive. I’m sure he’ll find out who it is before it’s too late,” Superman reassured them.

“Yah, but how much can Bats really do from isolation in the infirmary?” Flash asked. “Not to mention, how long before he’s unable to keep investigating?”

Vixen smirked, shaking her head. “I never bet against Batman. Nothing is going to keep him from working on cracking this case.”

“Only Bats could be stuck in isolation, sick with a fatal disease and still be coordinating a mission,” Flash remarked with an incredulous shake of his head.

“Come on,” Superman interjected. “We need to get moving. Be careful and notify each other if you find anything suspicious.”

“You got it, Supes,” Flash agreed. “I’ll take this side of Chinatown.”

“I’ll head to the marketplace,” Vixen decided. “See you boys later.”

Superman watched as the two superheroes took off in their respective directions, trying to keep a tight grip on his emotions. Allowing his fear for his friends or his worry over the people of Earth to get the better of him would not help anyone. It was time to get answers and put a stop to this permanently.

Chinatown, Los Angeles, California; 11:46 PST

“Mommy…mommy,” a little girl anxiously called as she pulled on her mother’s sleeve. “Look! It’s Vixen!”

“Yes, dear,” the mother absentmindedly responded as she continued to peruse the assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables at the outdoor market. “That’s nice.”

The little girl stood in complete awe of the superheroine, her eyes wide. Vixen smiled at the little girl, waving to her before ducking into an alley. “Mommy! Vixen waved at me! Mommy!”

“I’m sure she did, honey,” the mother placated her as she selected a container of grape tomatoes. “I’ll take one of these please.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” the vendor said with a smile, taking the container and putting the tomatoes into a bag for her.

“Mommy, I saw Vixen,” she excitedly cried. “Can we get her autograph?”

Taking her tomatoes, she finally turned her attention to her daughter. “Where did you see Vixen?”

“Over there!” the little girl said, pointing to the alley the heroine had just disappeared into. “She waved at me, mommy! Vixen waved at me! Can we go say hi to her?”

The mother frowned as she took her daughter’s hand securely in hers. “I think it’s time we head home.”

“But maybe something is going to happen,” the girl pouted. “We should stay and see what Vixen is going to do.”

“We need to go home and have lunch, honey,” she told her, quickly pulling her daughter away as she nervously glanced back towards the alley the Justice League heroine had just gone down. Whatever was happening or going to happen, she did not want to be around to be a part of it.

Vixen looked back at the mother and daughter rushing away, relieved that they were leaving. She was worried about anyone becoming infected with whatever it was Batman and Wonder Woman had been exposed to. Things were escalating far too rapidly and they had so few answers. Hopefully, they could find the device before it was too late.

Choosing the animal that she felt would help her the most, Vixen began to channel the characteristics of a wolf, knowing its supreme hunting skills would help her sniff out the device if there was one in the vicinity. 

She quickly began to explore the area, sorting out the various smells that assaulted her senses. She blocked out the hum of traffic and the noise of the people in the marketplace as she focused her gaze on scoping out anything that could conceivably be seen as a threat or a means of distributing the contagion.

She carefully and methodically worked her way through the marketplace area, doing her best to remain as inconspicuous as she possibly could while trying to find a bioterrorism agent in a heavily-trafficked area of Los Angeles.

Flash was right, though. This was going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. She wasn’t so sure if two hours was going to be nearly enough time, but hopefully between the three of them, they could find it and dispose of it before it was too late.

The worst part was not knowing what they were actually looking for. It may or not look like a bomb or it could be disguised as something else. It could also be something completely different that just released the virus into the air.

Checking another alley and finding nothing in the countless dumpsters, she swiftly moved on to the next street, all the while constantly scanning the area for anything suspicious or out of place. It was difficult when people were continuously roaming about, moving here and there.

Vixen paused by a row of trash cans, the stench nauseating to her enhanced sense of smell, but they couldn’t be ignored. It would be an excellent place to hide something, one that repelled people from even going near it.

Lifting the lid, she immediately turned her head away, her face scrunching up in disgust. She couldn’t help wondering what had crawled inside the garbage can and died, but wasn’t exactly too keen on looking inside to find out.

Forcing herself to open her eyes, Vixen peered inside to find rotten meat covered in maggots, but nothing else that indicated it would explode or release anything into the air. She quickly replaced the lid before she vomited, trying to shake off the sudden nausea that clung to her.

Placing her hands on her hips, she paused to look around, her dark-eyed gaze falling on a suspicious looking box sitting on the sidewalk against an apartment building. It was partially obstructed from view by a couple of garbage cans, a fruit stand several feet away.

She immediately made her way to it, her hand moving to her commlink. “Superman…Flash…I think that I found something. Could use some x-ray vision here to be sure.”

“I’m on my way,” Superman responded, appearing at her side in less than a minute.

Flash wasn’t far behind the Man of Steel. “Glad you found something,” he muttered as he came to a stop beside a crouching Vixen who was studying the large brown box. “I was coming up empty.”

Superman scanned it with his x-ray vision, his expression grim and growing more so with every second that silently ticked by. It did nothing to settle either of their growing alarm as Vixen and Flash waited impatiently for confirmation of what she had found.

“Well?” Flash exclaimed a little louder than he had intended. “What is it?”

“It looks like some sort of device, but it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before,” Superman revealed.

“Well, whatever it is, we can’t just stand here and stare at it until it contaminates half of Chinatown,” Flash stated.

“He’s right,” Vixen agreed. “We need to get this thing out of here and figure out what it is later.”

“Let’s get it back to the Watchtower and into containment so we can examine it,” Superman ultimately decided. “Hopefully, we can get the answers that we need there.”


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**_Watchtower; June 21st, 1600 EST_ **

Superman, J’onn, Atom, and Flash stood side by side with their arms crossed as they watched the video feed as well as the computer readings from the containment room, grim expressions on all four of their faces. None of them spoke or even ventured any sort of suggestion at that moment; no one offered a possible answer to their current dilemma that was growing more and more desperate by the day.

All of them felt the full weight and the horror of the situation, knowing that their friends were in urgent need of a cure not to mention the terrifying threat it presented to the public if it was released. The answers remained elusive while the questions continued to multiply.

“Maybe if I just—” Flash began.

“No!” All three heroes chimed in at once with an emphatic response that left little room for discussion.

“You didn’t even hear what I was going to say!” Flash exclaimed in annoyance.

“You’ve made the same suggestion four times in the last twenty minutes,” Clark stated, his frustration bubbling just beneath the surface. “You can’t use Plastic Man to sling-shot it across the galaxy.”

“Well, then I’m outta ideas,” Flash grumbled in exasperation, throwing his hands up in the air.

“You’ve only offered up one idea and it was terrible every time,” Atom said. 

“Any word from Aquaman about how things are in Haiti?” J’onn asked.

Superman turned to face the other three heroes, his bleak expression wavering slightly. “They searched the area that Batman indicated, but came up empty. Either it was a decoy for the real bomb in Chinatown or they never got a chance to set it up there.”

“Or it’s still there and they just never found it,” Flash suggested.

“No, he had Supergirl, Hawk, and Dove helping him search,” Superman informed them. “None of them found anything remotely close to what we found in Chinatown.”

“Well, we can’t just stand here staring at it,” Flash groused. “We’re going to have to do something.”

“I’m going in there to see what I can do about deactivating it and maybe get us some answers to this whole mess,” Atom piped up.

“I don’t like this, Ray,” Clark responded with a wary glance at the man standing to his right. “That thing doesn’t have a typical timing device to it. We have no idea how soon that thing could go. It could detonate with you inside of it. We can’t take that risk. We’ll have to come up with another way.”

“I don’t see that we have any other choice right now, Superman,” Atom replied. “We have to move quickly. Batman and Wonder Woman don’t have time for us to just sit back and be caution about this especially after the seizure Batman had this morning. We don’t know how much longer they’re going to be able to hold on.”

“I’m afraid that Atom is right,” J’onn reluctantly agreed. “We need to do something before more people become infected. Yes, our greatest concern right now is Batman and Wonder Woman, but we need to consider the bigger picture here. Billions of people could become infected in a short amount of time if we don’t do something.”

“Dude, this is so not cool,” Flash added with a heavy sigh. “Are you going to be able to get in there, do what you need to do and get out in time?”

Ray stared at the screen, weighing their options and finding none other. “Looks like we’re about to find out, won’t we?”

Flash clapped Atom on the back, nearly knocking him over. “It was nice knowing you, Ray.”

Atom frowned at Flash as he turned towards the door that would take him to the biohazard room. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Any time, buddy,” Wally said with a grin. “We’ll be right here waiting for you.”

“Be careful, Ray,” Clark told him. “If you find it’s about to blow, I want you out of there. We can’t risk losing you or having you in isolation too.”

“Yah, no heroics,” Flash chimed in. “We want you back in one little piece…not a lot of teeny-tiny, itsy-bitsy little Atom pieces.”

“Thanks…I think,” Atom murmured with a roll of his eyes.

Atom came to a stop before the door that would take him into the sealed contamination room, punching in the security code and opening the door. Entering, he momentarily stared at the large device resting on the floor in the center of the room. 

Superman had removed it from the plain brown box already, finding this inside of it. It appeared to be made of some sort of alloy, ovoid in shape and about the size of a large television standing on end. Spotting a small opening, Atom shrunk to size before crawling inside of it. He had to admit that it wasn’t like any device or bomb that he’d ever seen before, but he wasn’t ruling out the fact that it could still detonate at any moment.

He quickly began to work his way through the intricately designed device, making mental notes along the way about its structure in hopes that it might tell them something about who had made it. Whoever was behind all of this was extremely intelligent, the device highly sophisticated in nature.

It made him that much more worried about how they were going to be able to stop this and just how many more of these unusual devices there were around the world waiting to explode. The terrifying thought made him move faster, bypassing wiring and working his way to the heart of the structure.

“Ray, are you all right?”

Superman’s voice filled his ear through his commlink as he came to a stop before a very large container filled with a blue-green substance. “Yah, I’m good. I found our contagion hiding inside.”

“Anything else?” Clark asked.

“Give me a minute and I’ll get back to you,” Atom told him.

Silence once again filled the area as he moved past the contagion, working his way towards where the timing device was likely to be located. He knew that he was getting closer. He just needed a few more minutes.

“Atom, you need to move more quickly,” J’onn warned him. “I’m getting a shift in the readings. The internal temperature is beginning to rise.”

“I can tell,” Atom responded. “I just need a couple more minutes.”

“Get out of there, Ray,” Superman ordered in a tone that was mostly heard coming from Batman, not the Man of Steel.

“I’m almost there,” he told them.

Finding what he had been looking for, Atom quickly began dismantling the necessary wires to keep it from detonating. Sweat ran down the sides of his face and along his spine, mostly because of the rapidly rising internal temperature but also because of the direness of the situation he currently found himself in.

“Ray! Now!” Superman yelled at him.

“Just…a couple…more…seconds,” Ray ground out through clenched teeth as he struggled to pull the final wire free. It would have been much easier if he could increase his size a little, but it was impossible inside such close quarters such as this. “I’ve just about…got it.”

“I’m coming in there,” Flash stated as he began to move towards the door to the contamination room.

“No! I got it!” Ray yelled triumphantly, pausing to release a ragged breath. “It’s disarmed.”

J’onn, Flash, and Superman all watched the monitor readings, more than relieved to see the numbers drop to zero. They released a collective breath as Atom crawled out of the bomb before returning to his normal size.

“That was too close,” Superman grumbled, obviously still irritated that they had just taken such a huge risk like that.

“I think I’ve got an ulcer now,” Flash muttered as he sagged against a nearby wall. “No more close calls or emergencies for the rest of the day, okay? I need time to recover after this one.”

_“J’onn!”_

The Martian’s eyes glowed brightly as Bruce’s voice suddenly filled his head. That singular cry of his name held sheer panic, real and deep and chilling to the very bone. J’onn’s legs nearly buckled on him with the fierce onslaught of emotion that came with Bruce’s distress call, causing him to grab hold of the desk in front of him, his fingers curling around the edge.

 _“What is it, Batman?”_ the Martian Manhunter managed to communicate with him despite the overpowering fear that Bruce was channeling at that moment. 

_“It’s Diana.”_

**_Watchtower Isolation; June 21st 16:46 EST_ **

J’onn instantly phased into the infirmary, slipping into a hazmat suite before entering the isolation room. It was the same room that had become home to two of the founding members of the Justice League, dear friends who were fighting a losing battle against a virus that would eventually take their lives if they didn’t find a solution soon.

The Martian Manhunter found Diana sitting forward in a chair, her chest heaving and body shaking as she hungrily drew in as much air as possible. Bruce was kneeling in front of her, holding a breathing mask to her face as she struggled for every breath she drew. She had his t-shirt fisted in her hands, holding on to him as if he was her only salvation, her only hope for survival.

J’onn quickly went to them, pushing aside his own fear for his friends to focus on helping them as best as he could. “What happened?”

“We were discussing the case when Diana started coughing violently. She couldn’t catch her breath,” Bruce informed him, his voice rough with worry only to become a little more tender as his focus returned to the woman before him struggling to breathe. “That’s it, Princess. Take slow, deep breaths. It’s going to be all right.”

Diana’s eyes were wide with fear, her fingers twisting the soft fabric of his t-shirt as she tightened her hold on him. “I…I can’t…breathe…” she attempted to speak between gasping breaths, her voice muffled by the mask, but not the panic that she was experiencing.

J’onn kneeled down on her right, noticing how the red rash that had only been on her forearms had spread across her chest and up her neck. He checked her pulse to find it racing and erratic, her face flushed once more. Her fever was spiking again. His current treatment was no longer working. He would have to find another way to bring it down.

He immediately got to his feet, making his way to the medical supplies to get the medicines that he would need to help her. Glancing back at them, he could see how scared Diana was, but also how deeply this was affecting Bruce as well. He didn’t need his telepathic abilities to sense the very real fear that was rising within him or the very depths of his feelings for Diana as he tried to help her.

“Bruce…” she began, wanting to say more, but unable to form the words as desperation rose in her chest, the kind of frightening despair that came with feeling as though you were being suffocated.

“Just hang on, Diana,” Bruce told her, one hand holding the breathing mask while his other hand stroked her hair. “J’onn is getting you something to help you breathe.”

Diana slowly nodded her head, closing her eyes as she fought down her own panic. It felt as if all the oxygen had just been sucked out of the room, striking unrealistic fear in her heart. It was unbelievably terrifying not being able to breathe, feeling as though the next breath she drew could be her last.

She had never been afraid of dying, knowing that it was an eventual conclusion of life for a true warrior. No, it wasn’t her own death that she feared, but Bruce’s. If she was already struggling this much just to hang on, how much worse would it become for him, a mortal with no gods-given blessings to help protect him?

More than that was the fact that she would never have an opportunity to fully explore what it was that she felt for him, would never be able to know what a relationship with a man could be like. She was in love with this man, this extraordinary hero that had caught her attention from the moment they met. 

There was no denying it, no use trying to argue against it or talk herself out of it. She loved him, wanted more than just friendship with him. She wanted to share not only her heart with him, but her body, her life, her everything.

So many people just saw the outside that he wanted them to see, but she had seen so much more in him. He had become so good at deflecting, mastered the act of deception, but he couldn’t fool her. She knew the kind of man that he truly was and she loved every part of him.

She released the death-grip she had on his t-shirt, her right hand coming to rest on his forearm of the hand that was holding the breathing mask for her. Her thumb lightly caressed his arm as they stared into each other’s eyes, so much lingering there between them waiting to be voiced…expressed.

“Bruce,” she murmured, fighting to find the words that she wanted to say to him as she fought for every breath she drew. “I have…to tell you…something.”

The worry that had permeated his face was swiftly tucked safely inside, back behind the mask he wore. He swallowed back his emotions in that moment, fearing what she was about to say to him. “Don’t, Princess. Don’t try to talk. We can talk later when you’re feeling better…once this is all over and you’re safe.”

Diana frowned, her grip on his forearm tightening in frustration. Neither of them knew how much time they had left. This couldn’t wait any longer. What she had felt for him on that rooftop over a year ago when he had rattled off his reasons against a relationship with her was nothing compared to what she felt for him now. It had been an attraction at first, a fascination with the Dark Knight and the even darker person who hid behind the mask, but those feelings had only grown stronger and deeper over time as she began to know him better.

“But I—”

She was unable to finish her sentence, her chest growing tighter. It felt as though someone had their fingers wrapped around her throat, trying to crush her windpipe. Sweat glistened on her brow as her fever raged, her body trying to fight what was happening to her, but this was proving stronger than even her meta healing was capable of overcoming.

Bruce instantly noticed her increasing distress, his own ratcheting as he watched her struggle to breathe. “J’onn!” he growled, helpless fear lining his face. “She needs it now!”

J’onn rushed to her side with syringes in hand. He quickly began injecting medicines into her IV, his expression as concerned as Bruce’s. “This should help you breathe easier, Diana.”

“Let me help you back to bed,” Bruce suggested as he rose to his feet.

Diana grabbed his hand, stopping him. “No…don’t want to,” she managed to mutter despite the breathing mask that he held against her face.

Bruce frowned. “Why not? You need to lay down and rest.”

“I’m not…going to let this virus…beat me,” she insisted, fiery resolve replacing a degree of the panic that had settled into the features of her face.

Bruce’s lips thinned into a disapproving line as he reluctantly knelt back down in front of her again. While he greatly admired her determination and found a kindred spirit in that respect, he was far too scared at that moment to care how determined she was. He just wanted her to be all right again.

“I still think you should rest,” he grumbled. “Exerting yourself now isn’t going to help you either.”

“Like you’ve been resting…despite having…a fever-induced seizure?” she countered.

“That’s different,” he maintained with a scowl. “I’ve been trying to crack the layers of encryption on that USB drive in order to put a stop to this before the world becomes infected.”

“Let me…help you,” she replied, still gasping for breath.

“You can help me most by resting so I don’t have to worry about you so much,” he claimed.

Diana stared hard at him, not wanting to back down, but the pleading in his eyes was causing her resolve to waver. She hated to admit it, but she could hardly hold her head up. Her chest felt so heavy as if Giganta herself was standing on it at her full, imposing height.

“Fine,” she relented with an impressive scowl of her own that could have easily rivaled her roommate’s.

“Now I know you’re sick,” he muttered with a sigh.

“How?”

“You’re giving in to me far too easily,” Bruce told her as he stood again, maneuvering to stand beside her. “I usually get more of a fight out of you than this.”

“I’m going to prepare a breathing treatment to help you as well, Diana,” J’onn informed them as he turned away.

Bruce barely heard him, his focus entirely on Diana as he leaned forward to carefully slip the straps of her breathing mask behind her ears, freeing his other hand so he could get her up and to her bed. Diana allowed him to help her to her feet, her legs almost giving out on her as she stood up. He tightened his hold on her arm, helping her stay upright instead of crumpling to the ground in a heap.

She tightened her hold on Bruce while her other hand moved to grip her IV pole. “You…have me…at a disadvantage.”

“How so?” Bruce asked as he walked her to her bed, helping her into it before pulling the covers over her.

“No,” she gasped, adamantly shaking her head as she held up her hand. “Too hot.”

With a worried frown, he pushed her covers back to the foot of her bed before sitting down on the edge of it. “How do I have you at a disadvantage, Princess?”

“I can’t argue…with you…if I can’t catch…my breath,” she pointed out, trying to lighten his rapidly darkening mood.

She could see the storm brewing within him, the guilt and blame for all of this that he was attempting to shoulder alone though none of it was his fault. But that never seemed to matter to him. He always somehow managed to feel responsible for everyone else no matter how illogical it may seem. She wasn’t going to allow it this time, though. She would pull him back from that brooding precipice regardless of how hard he fought her. He was stubborn, but so was she.

“You know you’re just helping me prove my point that you’re a lot sicker than you’re letting on,” Bruce responded with a frown as he reached over to adjust the pillows behind her head to help her sit up a little better.

“You’re…sick too,” she shot back, not about to back down. “You just…won’t admit it.”

“You’re worse than I am,” he countered, not backing down either.

“Just at the moment,” she told him. “I’ll be better…in a few minutes.”

Bruce wished more than anything in this world that that was true, but he knew that it wasn’t. She wasn’t going to get better, wasn’t going to make it through this unless a cure was found. She looked so weak lying there in her bed, unlike the extraordinarily strong woman that he had come to consider one of his two closest friends, the only one who had fully managed to steal his heart despite his best efforts.

J’onn reappeared with the medicine that he hoped would help Diana breathe easier. He quickly assembled the apparatus on the breathing mask, noticing how tense Bruce still remained. All of his attention was exclusively on her and only her. J’onn knew there was nothing in this world that could have torn Bruce away from her side at that moment.

“We’ll have to do a series of treatments, but hopefully this will make it easier for you to breathe,” J’onn told her, covering her mouth and nose with the new breathing mask before drawing more blood to run further tests. “I’m afraid Bruce is right, Diana. You need to rest and conserve your strength. We can’t risk you getting any worse.”

“See,” Bruce triumphantly proclaimed, though there was no joy in his victory. “I told you.”

Diana rolled her eyes, shaking her head at his smugness. “You think…you’re always…right.”

“That’s because I always am right. Now, stop trying to talk. You need to breathe in the medicine,” he ground out in frustration.

“It’s not…that bad,” she claimed, her voice still muffled by the mask.

“You could be on your deathbed and you would still claim to be perfectly fine,” Bruce practically growled at her, the heavy ache his words created hidden beneath his usual mask of annoyance.

Diana glared at him, her opinion on the matter plainly obvious. Despite her resistance, she didn’t speak any more or at least not yet. Her eyes never left his as she continued to breathe in the medicine that J’onn had prepared for her, her mind swimming with all the things that she longed to say to him. She feared that she would never get the chance at this point.

Every time she attempted to start a conversation, he evaded it altogether or stopped her before she could even get the chance to express what burned in her heart. He either didn’t want to discuss even the notion of them or he truly didn’t feel anything for her past friendship. The thought that he felt nothing for her filled her with despair.

Bruce noticed the way her brow knitted together as she glared at him. He loved that little dip between her eyebrows when she was mad. He’d often found himself wanting to kiss that furrow away and now was no different as he felt her hand move to cover his. His eyes briefly left hers to glance down as the slender fingers that could crush steel slip around his hand, gently tightening in a silent conveyance that no words could begin to express in that moment.

“Want to play…another game of Scrabble?” she finally asked, breaking the building tension. “I promise…I’ll go easy on you…this time.”

A corner of his mouth quirked with her offer despite his best efforts to prevent it. He shook his head in amazement. “No, I don’t and it was I who was going easy on you.”

“You quit…so that means I won.”

The muffled sound of her voice or the crimson flush of her face did little to diminish her charm, making him wonder if there was even anything about her that he wasn’t utterly attracted to no matter the situation they found themselves in. 

“I got a message from Nightwing and you’re not supposed to be talking, Princess. You’re supposed to be breathing in the medicine.”

“I’m feeling…better,” she insisted. “We still never finished…what we started.”

He watched as hopeful anticipation flitted through her eyes, her response holding so much more meaning than he was ready or willing to deal with right now…if ever. “You need to rest,” he softly replied instead, squeezing her hand in silent reassurance. “We can play again later when you’re feeling better.”

She met his gaze, holding it for several seconds before responding. “I’m holding you…to that,” she rasped, trying to hide her disappointment, but failing miserably.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her as they stared at one another. Conflict erupted in his heart in that moment, his desire for her heating his blood. Wanting her vied with his fear’s demand to let her go in order to protect her. 

It was painfully evident how sick she was rapidly becoming. She looked so pale, her breathing labored and difficult despite the medicines J’onn had given her. Her blue eyes had lost their brightness, the fierce spirit that dwelt within her slowly being snuffed out by the monsters behind this contagion. It was unimaginable to even think about.

He knew what she wanted to talk about, knew what he wanted to say in return and yet he couldn’t allow it to happen. Every day that passed, every hour was excruciating as his resolve grew more and more fragile. All it would take was a single kiss, one expression of love, one brush of her skin against his and he would never be able to walk away from her again. He had to keep his distance now more than ever if he was going to be able to sever all ties with her and the League when this was finally resolved.

Losing himself in her eyes now, though, he found that resolve was nearly non-existent. He wanted to lie down next to her, pull her against him and hold her in his arms, to bury his face in her raven hair and breathe in every part of her. He wanted to feel her soft skin against his, to drown himself in her intoxicating scent that made his heart stutter.

Would he honestly be able to survive turning his back on her? Walking away from her and never looking back? Even now, the thought alone was crushing. How much worse would it be when the time actually came to do it?

**_Cairo, Egypt; June 21st, 21:18 EET_ **

The sound of a fist slamming against the table echoed through the room. “How did they know where to find the detonation device? You swore to me that no one would be able to break through the security you put on that USB drive.”

“I put three levels of encryption on that drive,” the man insisted, refusing to back down despite the powerful man he was standing before. “I do not know how anyone was able to break through it or how they were able to do it so quickly. It would take a computer genius weeks to get through that level of security.”

Talia al’Gul smiled smugly to herself as she leaned against the wall at the back, her arms folded against her chest as she remained inconspicuously in the shadows of the expansive room. She knew it was her beloved who had been able to crack through the encryption. She had warned her father not to underestimate him and yet he had done just that.

Her heart leapt with the knowledge that her beloved must still be alive and no doubt fighting to find a cure. She just hoped that the Amazon wasn’t so fortunate. The sooner that Amazon Princess was no longer alive, the happier she would be.

Once Wonder Woman was dead and out of the way, she would lure Bruce back to her. When he was finally back in her arms once more, she would make him soon forget all about that conniving Amazon who had tried to steal her beloved from her. She would convince him that by her side was where he always belonged.

Her eyes darkened, her lips twisting into a smug sneer with the thought of winning back the man she loved while destroying Wonder Woman. She was such the shining beacon of light to the world, the so-called emissary of Themyscira spreading her message of peace and justice. 

Talia swore to herself she was going to expose Wonder Woman for what she truly was, forcing Bruce and the whole world to see that the Amazon was nothing. The thought of disgracing Diana, ending her existence brought her a measure of joy despite her worry for her beloved.

She had to find a way to get the antidote to him before he died, knowing that he should be feeling the full effects of the contagion by now. Batman and Wonder Woman had been exposed four days ago. The contagion had been created to remain in stasis for approximately two days, allowing further exposure to those they come in contact with. 

Within three days, the symptoms begin to appear and gradually worsen over the next couple of days with death soon following approximately six to seven days after initial exposure. Death would be a welcome reprieve for what they were about to experience.

She knew that time was rapidly running out for her beloved. She wanted to go to him, to save him from what was about to come. It would be a horribly painful way to die and the thought of losing him in this way made her sick to her core.

A cry of pain instantly caught her attention, tearing her from her thoughts. She watched as the man that her father had hired to ensure technological security for their project dropped to the floor, blood pouring from the wound her father’s sword had just created in his abdomen.

“Your services are no longer needed,” Ra’s growled as he glared down at the dying man, his sword still gripped tightly in his hand.

Tossing his sword aside, Ra’s lifted his chin, his deadly glower falling on everyone in his presence. He spotted his daughter standing in the back, partially obscured by the flickering shadows of the torches that lined the ancient room that had become his throne room. 

“Daughter,” Ra’s called to her, straightening to his full height. “Any word on Batman or Wonder Woman’s condition?”

“No,” she informed him with a shake of her head as she straightened up. “There have been no announcements released by the Justice League yet. Neither of them has been seen since the explosion at the Nubian compound.”

“It won’t be long now,” he thoughtfully replied, stroking his chin. “The detective and the princess should both be dead within three more days. They will learn the true meaning of pain the hard way.”

Talia stiffened with his words, a mixture of joy and sorrow infusing her soul. She had to find a way to save one without saving the other. “I can’t help but wish there was a way to save Batman.”

Ra’s’ hand came to rest against her cheek, a sympathetic look filling his face. “Talia, we’ve been over this. If there was a way to save him, I would do it in a heartbeat, but the detective will not conform to our beliefs. His refusal will be his demise.”

“I know, father,” Talia softly replied, clearing her throat before continuing. “Are we going to continue as planned or will we have to change things now that Batman has been able to break through the encryption on the drive?”

“We are going ahead as planned…at least for the time being,” Ra’s told her, motioning to his men to take the body away. “So far it seems that the detective has only been able to break through the first level of encryption otherwise he would know about Metropolis already.”

“Which he should be finding out about quite soon,” she said, doing her best to hide her feelings on the matter. “By the way, I have a report that the League was spotted in Haiti.”

Ra’s laughed in response to the news, a deep rolling sound that echoed off the ancient stone walls. “I would have loved to have seen the look on the detective’s face when they found nothing in Haiti. I guess my security genius wasn’t as completely incompetent after all.”

“I should go get ready,” Talia told him. “I’ll keep you posted on Metropolis.”

As she turned away, her father captured her hand in his, keeping her from leaving. “I know how deeply this is hurting you, daughter. That is the last thing in this world that I want to do, but you know it is all for the greater good.”

“I know, father,” she softly replied, giving him a small smile, but avoiding making eye contact with him.

Ra’s slowly nodded his head as he released her hand, watching her as she left his throne room. He stared at the doorway she had just passed through for several long moments, lost in his thoughts. He wished for Talia’s sake that the detective could be here with them now, seeing his ultimate dream coming to fruition.

His victory would be sweet and not even the formidable Batman of Gotham would be able to stop him this time.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**_Wayne Manor, Gotham; June 21st, 22:01 EST_ **

“Why can’t I go?”

“Do you really have to ask?” Dick asked him with a pointed glare that held an element of incredulity to it.

“I’m better…I swear!” Tim claimed as he watched Dick preparing for patrol. “Leslie even said so.”

“Leslie said you were doing better, but she never said you were ready to go out on patrol yet,” Dick pointed out as he checked his utility belt once more. “Besides, if I let you go out now after being shot, Bruce will have my head and I personally prefer it right where it is thank you very much. That’s not even accounting for what Alfred and Leslie would do to me for letting you go out.”

“I won’t tell them if you don’t,” Tim swore, hopeful expectation coloring his young face.

“No deal,” Dick adamantly stated in no uncertain terms. “You can stay here and monitor things from the cave if you want.”

Tim flopped back in Bruce’s chair with a huff of reluctant resignation, swiveling back around to face the expansive computer system that his surrogate father had created. “That’s not much of a compromise, you know.”

“Just be glad that Alfred and Leslie let you out of your room this soon,” Dick reminded him. “Alfred wasn’t too keen on you coming down to the cave in the first place. He doesn’t like the idea of you being in the cold, drafty Batcave when you should be upstairs recovering in your bedroom.”

Tim sulked with growing agitation, propping his head up in his hand with his elbow resting on the desk. He began clicking on various files they had created for the case, hoping to see something that they may have missed so far. “Alfred worries too much. I’m not even having any pain. I feel perfectly fine.”

“You gave us all quite a scare, little bird,” Dick reminded him, his voice growing solemn with the reminder of that night. “We could have lost you and that’s not acceptable. You have to stick around at least for another eighty years or so.”

Tim fought back a smile despite his annoyance with everyone’s over-protectiveness. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m afraid you’re going to be stuck with me for a very long time, bro.”

“I had better be,” Dick told him as he checked his cell phone one last time. “There’s nobody else I’d rather be stuck with than you.”

“Are you getting all mushy on me, Dick?” Tim asked, sitting up straighter as he turned to look at his older brother.

“Well, Bruce isn’t here to look out for your so it’s my job as your big brother to keep you in line.”

“I’m not some little kid, you know,” Tim grumbled, the touching moment fleeting by. “I’m a teenager…practically a grown man.”

“You’re fifteen which makes you still a kid,” Dick said, ruffling Tim’s hair much to the teen’s irritation. “I’ll always be older than you so you’ll always be my little brother. It’s my duty to look out for you at all times whether you like it or not.”

The conversation was abruptly interrupted by the sound of the transporter firing up, Zatanna appearing in the cave. “Sorry I’m late,” she called as she quickly stepped down from the pad, slightly out of breath. “I had a few things that I needed to tie up before I could run around with you again tonight as your Bat partner in crime.”

“I hope it wasn’t anything too complicated,” Dick replied with a frown.

“No, just lining up someone to take my shows tonight,” Zatanna revealed with a warm smile. “After our last adventure, I thought I had better be prepared for anything this time. You never know what trouble we’re going to run into this time.”

“It shouldn’t be anything too stressful,” Dick reassured her.

Zatanna rolled her eyes, her hands coming to rest on her hips. “For some reason I can’t quite put my finger on, I don’t believe you. This is Gotham, Dick Grayson. Everything is always chaotic in Gotham City.”

“I still think that I should get to go along,” Tim muttered sullenly under his breath as he leaned forward with both elbows resting on the desk. “You guys might need backup.”

“Aww, Tim,” Zatanna replied as she came to a stop beside his chair. “By this time next week, you’ll be swinging from building to building again.”

“Next week!” Tim cried, sitting straight up once more. “I’m ready now!”

“Master Timothy, you are in no shape to be out on the streets of Gotham, running around and getting yourself into even more trouble than you have already managed to find,” Alfred sternly reprimanded him as he approached them. “Isn’t it enough that you have given me one near-heart attack this week without trying for more?”

“Yes, Sir,” Tim grumbled forlornly. “I’m sorry, Alfred. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Now, upstairs with you,” the British butler instructed him. “I need to check your bandages and give you your medicine.”

“But Dick said that I could stay down here and monitor their patrol,” Tim countered, frowning as he pointed at the pair behind him. “Besides, I’m not even having any pain.”

It was Alfred’s turn to give a disagreeable look at the trio before him. “Fine, you can stay down here for a little while longer and then it’s back to bed for you, young man. Just because you can’t go to school doesn’t mean that you don’t have homework to do. I had your assignments sent home for you so that you wouldn’t get behind in your studies.”

Tim’s face scrunched up in revulsion. “Don’t remind me. I have a paper to write on To Kill a Mockingbird. Do you have any idea how boring that book is?”

“Ah, an excellent work of literary art,” Alfred replied with fond remembrance. “Now, you have until midnight and then I shall be returning for you. No tricks.”

With that, Alfred turned on his heel, leaving them alone once more. Dick laid a sympathetic hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Tim,” he told him. “You’ll be back out there with us in no time.”

“I hope so,” Tim mumbled. “Just be careful out there.”

“We will,” Dick promised before turning his attention to his partner for the evening, a playboy smile forming on his face. “Ready, Zee?”

“Can we take the Batmobile again?” Zatanna excitedly asked as they started to walk away.

Dick held out his arm towards her, a black key dangling from his fingers. “Your wish is my command, Miss Zatara.”

Zatanna grinned broadly at him. “Let’s bust some villains then, bird boy. Can I drive?”

“No way,” Dick emphatically stated as he made his way around to the passenger side, opening the door for her. “Bruce would have a heart attack if I let anyone else drive his car. Besides, he’d probably croak as it is if he knew I was driving it.”

“Fine,” she reluctantly agreed as she slid into the passenger seat, appreciating the fine black leather as she lightly slid her fingers over it. “Where to tonight, partner?”

“Barbara came across a lead that could take us to Ivy,” Dick informed her as the engine roared to life with a near-deafening growl. “After that, I’ll do a little patrolling; make sure that Gotham’s scum knows someone is watching.”

Zatanna was pushed back into her seat with the speed of the Batmobile racing down the secret tunnel and out into the blackness of night. She risked a sidelong glance at her handsome partner for the night, her thoughts taking her back to that almost-kiss the other night. She was hoping that tonight might turn out a little more rewardingly.

“So what kind of lead did Barbara find?” she asked.

“Oracle was able to break down those spores that we found at the airport,” Dick explained as they sped towards their first destination. “She found traces of a specific chemical that weren’t in the spores that Tim had found the first time.”

“Okay, so now we just need to figure out where this chemical can be found in Gotham,” Zatanna deduced, mulling over this new revelation. “That’s going to be like trying to find a single type of hay in an enormous haystack.”

“Not exactly,” Dick said with a smile. “Barbara has it narrowed down to five manufacturing companies in Gotham, three of which are no longer in business.”

“Way to go, Babs!” Zatanna cheered. “She’s about the smartest cookie I know.”

“Yah, she really came through for us again,” Dick agreed with a nod of his head. “I don’t know what we’d do without her.”

“So I guess we can probably rule out the two companies that are in business.”

“I agree,” Dick readily decided. “We’ll save them for last.”

“So which one are we starting at?”

“Gotham chemical plant,” he informed her. “Hopefully, it will give us the information we need.”

“Have the people exposed to the spores at the airport started exhibiting any symptoms yet?”

“They’re all catatonic right now,” Dick confessed with a sigh. “They just stare at nothing. They don’t speak, they don’t eat, they don’t do anything but just stare at you. It’s creepy.”

“Super,” Zatanna grumbled with a scowl. “Well, that’s obviously not the same stuff that infected Bruce and Diana.”

“No,” he said. “It means that Ivy isn’t probably behind whatever they were exposed to. Someone else is still out there trying to wipe out the human race.”

“Does Bruce have any ideas about who it could be?”

“Only one he can think of now,” he stated with a scowl.

“And who is that?”

“Ra’s al’Gul.”

**_Oa; June 22nd, 01:17 EST_ **

“Do you really think we’re going to find the answers we need?” Shayera asked as they made their way down a long corridor.

“I hope so,” John grimly responded, his eyes focused straight ahead of him. “If not, I have no idea where to look next.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and J’onn has been able to create an antidote since we’ve been gone.”

John glanced at his lover out of the corner of his eye, his expression clouded with skepticism. “When has luck ever been on our side?”

“I can still hope, can’t I?”

“When did you become such an optimist?”

“I don’t know,” she confessed with a shrug of her shoulders. “I guess Diana’s beginning to rub off on me.”

“John!”

Lantern and Shayera stopped and turned at the sound of a familiar voice. “Kilowog,” John greeted him with a nod of his head. “Been a while.”

“Too long,” he agreed, shaking his fellow Lantern’s hand. “I heard there’s trouble brewing. I came as quickly as the call went out to any Lanterns in the area.”

“I’m afraid this isn’t a social visit,” John admitted. “Batman and Wonder Woman have been infected with a deadly virus that has an alien component to it. We’re trying to find a cure to save them. We were hoping that maybe someone here had run into it before.”

Kilowog thoughtfully rubbed his chin. “I haven’t heard anything about it in my sector, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist or that someone else hasn’t heard anything.”

“That’s why an emergency meeting was called the moment we arrived,” John told him. “We’ve been waiting for Lanterns to return to Oa, but I’m afraid our friends are quickly running out of time. They were infected five days ago.”

“Let’s go see what we can find out from the others,” Kilowog agreed. “I need to check in first. I’ll meet you in the council hall.”

“Thanks, Kilowog,” John said with a sigh of relief.

“See you both in a few.”

Turning, John took Shayera’s hand in his as he began to lead her towards the council hall. It sort of took her by her surprise, noticing how he was being a little more demonstrative in public with her. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it yet, but decided to just go along with it for the time being and see how things went.

“I hope this works,” Shayera murmured under her breath.

“Me too,” John softly confessed, squeezing her hand. “We won’t give up until they are safe again.”

“They could be gone by the time we return to the ‘Tower,” she replied, turning her head away from him to hide the moisture that was abruptly collecting in her eyes against her will.

John pulled her to a stop, forcing her to look at him as his hand moved to cup her cheek. “Shay, we’ll get through this. I promise.”

Shayera slowly nodded her head, lost in the dark brown of his eyes. She found a measure of fear residing there in those dark depths. She suddenly realized in that moment that John’s public displays of affection had been just as much for his sake as it had been for hers. Despite being an ex-Marine, he still cared deeply for his friends, shared her fear for them and needed her as much as she needed him right now. They needed each other’s support and strength, the comfort of the one that they loved.

Without warning, she leaned in and kissed him deeply, letting him know without words that they would find a way through this together. They wouldn’t stop fighting for their friends, no matter the odds against them. They were family though not one born by blood.

Breaking the kiss, Shayera smiled softly at him. “Let’s go see if we can save our friends.”

He smiled broadly in return, sharing her renewed sense of hope. “Let’s do this.”

Taking her hand once more, John led her into the council hall, anxious to get some much needed answers. They had gotten word that Bruce and Diana were growing worse, making every moment they spent here that much more critical to their friends’ survival.

John released his hold on her hand as they found their seats in the front row. Green Lanterns from all over the galaxy were beginning to assemble, a buzz of whispers filling the expansive room. Several paused to greet John, giving the beautiful Thanagarian a curious look.

Shayera smirked to herself, amused by the looks she was receiving from John’s fellow Lanterns. She leaned over; her lips close to his ear. “They act like they’ve never seen you with a woman before.”

“I’ve been with lots of women,” he whispered with a frown, catching a glimpse of a very jealous scowl from the woman sitting to his left. “I mean…wait. That’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean?” she hissed.

“They’ve just never seen me this happy and in love,” he amended, suddenly wondering when it had become so much warmer in here as he tugged on the collar of his uniform.

“You are so full of—”

“Thank you all for coming,” one of the leaders of the Green Lantern Corps greeted everyone. “We have a very serious situation that we need your help with. I’m going to let John Stewart take over so he can explain the situation.”

John stepped up to the dais, his expression revealing the full gravity of the matter that was about to be presented. He waited for a moment before speaking as several more members of the Lantern Corps continued to file into the room. He wanted this information to be spread to as many of his fellow Lanterns as possible to hopefully avoid other worlds from being infected if this had been obtained from another planet.

“First, I want to thank you all for coming so quickly,” John began. “There is a very dangerous threat to earth that we fear could be from another planet or could eventually spread throughout the galaxy if it hasn’t begun already.

“Right now, Batman and Wonder Woman are fighting for their lives after being exposed to a strange blue-green cloud. It infects through the air as well as skin contact. We have been studying this virus and have detected an alien component to it that is able to affect one of our most powerful metas, Wonder Woman. We need to know if anyone has heard of this virus or know how to cure it.”

There was widespread murmuring as alarm escalated with this new threat that could even take down a metahuman like Wonder Woman. The crowd was abruptly silenced when Arkkis Chummuck stood to his feet from his position in the back of the room. 

“We’ve just had a recent outbreak of a strange virus on Ranstad-7,” he informed them. “The illnesses were reportedly preceded by the mysterious release of an unusual bluish gas into the air. It took several days, but the first victim died last week.”

Shayera immediately sat forward in her seat, fighting the sudden intense urge to fly straight towards Arkkis and hug him. This was exactly what they had needed in order to help their friends. While excited about the sudden hope she felt, she couldn’t shake the dread that his revelation brought.

Earth wasn’t the only place this contagion had been discovered…and there had already been casualties with many more likely on the horizon.

**_Watchtower Isolation; June 22nd, 02:45 EST_ **

Bruce couldn’t stop pacing from one end of the isolation room to the other, the long oxygen tubing giving him the freedom he needed to move instead of keeping him confined to his bed. He still felt like a caged animal desperately searching for a way of escape. Diana had made a turn for the worse over the last few hours, her breathing ragged as she continued to fade in and out of consciousness.

It was only a matter of time now until this blasted virus took her life, taking her away from him. He didn’t know how he was going to be able to cope with that. It was grueling enough as it was just knowing that he was going to break off all contact with her once this was over, but at least then he would be able to take comfort in the knowledge that she was alive and safe for the most part.

This…this was very different, though. She would be gone not only from his life but from the world and that was beyond imaging. It was not something that he could accept if ever.

Diana sleepily murmured his name, causing him to stop his pacing. He made his way to her, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I’m right here, Princess,” he softly told her. “Do you need anything?”

“No,” she whispered, shaking her head as her forehead creased. “I’m just…so cold.”

Bruce’s hand came to rest against her cheek, surprised to feel her skin cool and clammy to the touch. It sent an icy shiver down his spine. He didn’t know how she could be so cold when she had been burning up with fever just a few hours ago. Retrieving another blanket from the cabinet, he quickly began covering her with it, his sense of helplessness escalating with every passing moment.

“Do you want something to eat or drink?”

“No, I’m okay,” she claimed, her voice sounding weak even to her as she removed her breathing mask.

Bruce frowned with her response. “You are far from fine, Diana, and you need to keep the breathing mask on.”

“Are you saying I look terrible?” she asked, trying to lighten his mood not to mention change the subject.

He shook his head, the tension in his face easing a little. “Diana, you could never look terrible,” he told her. “Even covered in a rash and flushed with fever, you still manage to look beautiful.”

“How did you ever manage to date so many women with such a pathetic pick up line like that?” she teased, the corners of her lips curling slightly, her eyelids heavy with sickness.

“It’s the money women are after,” he replied, doing his best to hide his amusement with her teasing remark. 

“It’s not just the money they’re after, Bruce,” she corrected him as her hand came to rest against his muscular chest, caressing him through his t-shirt. “You have a lot to offer a woman. You just need to find the one who is worthy of you.”

Bruce could feel his walls beginning to crumble once more, knowing that he needed to change the subject. “You shouldn’t talk right now. You need to rest and save your strength.”

“I’m tired of resting,” she complained with a scowl, batting his hand away as he tried to replace her breathing mask. “Are you making any more headway on the USB drive?”

“I’ve cracked the first layer of encryption and I’m close to getting through the second, but there’s still a third layer to break through. It’s been a frustratingly slow process.”

“Are you any closer to finding Ra’s al’Gul?”

“Not yet,” he confessed with a sigh of frustration as he rubbed the back of his neck. He was exhausted, but he couldn’t let it affect him right now, not when Diana needed him and he had Ra’s to find. “I’ve been using the satellites to monitor his known hide-outs to see if he or any of his men are there, but I haven’t been able to pick up anything yet.”

“He’s most likely found himself a new place to set up business,” she decided, her brow furrowing with thought. “He probably knew that you’d be looking for him at his old hide-outs.”

“I just have to get out of here and find him myself,” he stated, his anger with the situation surfacing. “I know how he thinks, but I can’t track him if I’m stuck up here in isolation.”

“Dick is smart, Bruce,” she reminded him. “I’m sure he’ll be able to find Ra’s.”

“But Dick doesn’t know Ra’s like I do and I’m sure Talia is in this as well which makes all of this even more dangerous,” he countered, the tension he felt in his shoulders settling into his jaw as he ground his teeth. “I need to be the one to find them and put a stop to this before more people become infected. I need to make him give up the antidote.”

Diana frowned as she rolled over onto her left side, her hand finding his. “Bruce, I know this isn’t easy for you, but you’re going to have to rely on others to help you stop Ra’s and Talia. I’m afraid this is one time that you can’t be the hero.”

“It’s not about me being the hero, Diana,” he snapped, immediately regretting his angry tone with her. He knew she didn’t mean it the way he had just taken it, but his patience was running very thin right now. “It’s about knowing that I’m the only one who can do it. I know Ra’s…and Talia. I know how they work and how they think.”

“I know you are the best at dealing with them, but sometimes you have to let others in, allow them to help you,” she pointed out. “You can’t be everywhere all the time, Bruce, and you also don’t deserve to carry the guilt for all of this. You did not create this contagion nor did you detonate that bomb at the compound.”

“Yes, but it’s my fault that you were there in the first place,” he argued. “If I hadn’t asked you to come along, then you wouldn’t be in here fighting for your life right now.”

“No, I wouldn’t be,” she agreed, her expression growing sorrowful. “I’d be at your funeral, kneeling before your grave and demanding to know why you didn’t ask me to come with you. I’d be extremely furious with you for leaving us. I’d probably have gone to the Underworld just so I could tell you what a stupid move that was to go to that compound without backup.”

Bruce couldn’t help but laugh with the image that popped into his head of Diana fighting her way through the Underworld just to yell at him. “You would too. I can see it all now. Even though I would be dead, you would still manage to go to the pits of hell just so you could ream me out.”

Diana smiled brightly with the thought. “And kick your ass for leaving me. Don’t forget that part.”

“How could I?” he said with a chuckle.

Diana studied him for a long moment as her face grew serious once more; noticing how much all of this was weighing so heavily on him. He always took the full weight of the world upon his own shoulders to bear. She wished that he would let her share in his burdens, allow her to help him and take a measure of the load from him, to help him to see that he doesn’t need to do it all alone.

He noticed how she was studying him, the sadness that had invaded her eyes. “I am sorry that I got you into this mess, Princess,” he softly said, adjusting the blankets around her shoulders a little more to keep her warm.

“Bruce…don’t,” she scolded him. “I’m not sorry. There isn’t any other place I’d rather be than here with you.”

Bruce squeezed her hand, the overwhelming urge to kiss her taking over every part of him. He knew she meant every single word she said. There was no guile in her. She was the embodiment of truth and it was with the purity of her heart that she spoke. It reflected so brightly in her eyes.

“I’ll get us out of this,” he promised her.

She smiled softly at him, wishing that he would kiss her. “I know you will. You always come through and now will be no different.”

Bruce slowly shook his head in absolute amazement. “I don’t know what you could possibly see in me.”

“I see beyond what you let people see,” she replied, her eyes growing heavy despite her best efforts to keep them open. She didn’t want this conversation to end. She felt as though she was finally making some headway with him, getting through his defenses. “I see the real you and he’s a pretty amazing man whether you believe it or not, a man with the most compassionate heart that I’ve ever seen.”

The one corner of Bruce’s lips lifted with her words. “I’m not sure I believe that, Princess, but it’s nice knowing that you do.”

He felt her hand grow limp in his as he lost her to unconsciousness once more, but couldn’t miss the serene expression that still lit her face. She shivered despite the blanket that he had added. He adjusted them around her a little more, placing the breathing mask on her face again before coming to a decision. 

Lifting the covers, he climbed into the bed next to her, carefully gathering into his arms until her head was resting against his chest. He tightened his hold on her, providing her his warmth in an effort to comfort her the best that he could at that moment.

He couldn’t stop himself from pressing his lips against her forehead, wishing he could wake with her in his arms every morning, but knowing it was impossible.

**_Watchtower; June 22nd, 05:30 EST_ **

The sound of his clock alarm in his quarters on the Watchtower made Clark groan in annoyance, his hand sleepily finding the snooze button. He pressed his head further into the pillows, wishing he could use his heat vision to blast his alarm clock, but Bruce wouldn’t be too happy if he requisitioned another alarm clock this soon after having to replace the last one he burned to ashes just a couple of weeks ago. 

Instead, he pulled the covers up over his head, wishing he could just make it all go away. It had been a very long week. Everything that had been going on was beginning to wear him down. It was more than difficult to watch as his two best friends were slowly destroyed by a virus they couldn’t begin to cure while Ra’s was still out there somewhere, threatening to unleash it on the world.

The alarm suddenly blared again, making him wonder how seven minutes had just gone by so quickly. With a groan of reluctance, Clark sat up, turning to shut off his alarm before shifting to sit on the edge of his bed. He rubbed his face with a weary sigh, running his fingers back through his black hair.

It just felt like they had been hitting one dead-end after another. The only bright side to any of this had been the fact that they had been able to stop the contamination of Chinatown. Heaven only knew only many more of these diffusion devices had been planted all over the world, secretly waiting to infect thousands of people.

Hopefully, though, things were beginning to change for them. Bruce had been able to figure out it was Ra’s al’Gul who was behind all of this. Now, they just had to track the madman down. He knew that Bruce was the expert when it came to Ra’s, but he needed someone on the outside to be able to find him and put a stop to this before anyone else became infected.

He also knew that this had to be driving Bruce absolutely crazy not being able to be out there looking for Ra’s himself. On top of that, Poison Ivy was causing trouble in Gotham and Tim had been shot. It was a wonder that Bruce hadn’t stormed out of isolation a couple of days ago regardless of the dire situation he and Diana were in or completely lost his mind once and for all.

He felt bad that he had barely seen Lois this entire week outside of work. Fortunately, she understood, helping to cover a share of his work for him so that he could concentrate on helping Bruce and Diana. Hopefully, this would all be resolved soon so he could spend some much needed time with her.

Getting up, Clark quickly showered and shaved. Putting on a clean uniform, he reached for his red boots when his commlink suddenly went off. “Batman to Superman.”

Clark tapped his commlink. “Shouldn’t you be asleep right now?”

“Too much work to do,” he bluntly stated without preamble, sounding more Batman than Bruce Wayne. “You have to get to Metropolis right away.”

“Why? What’s going on?” Clark demanded.

“I’ve uncovered another plan to release the contagion,” Bruce informed him, urgency lacing his voice. “This time it’s Metropolis. I have the coordinates narrowed down to within six blocks of the Daily Planet.”

“This can’t be happening,” Clark ground out as he raced out of his quarters, thoughts of Lois storming through his mind. “We have to find Ra’s now.”

“I know, but he’s not been seen at any of his past bases of operation,” Bruce stated, his own anger and frustration more than evident in his tone. “I have Nightwing and Oracle working on tracking him down.”

“Let me know when they find him,” Clark responded. “I want to personally thank him for his latest plot to take over the world.”

“You’re going to have to get in line behind me.”

“Send the coordinates to the transporter room,” Clark told him. “I’m heading there right now.”

“I had J’onn contact Flash, Supergirl, and Black Canary,” Bruce informed him. “They’re all heading for the transporters now.”

“Thanks,” Clark answered as he approached the transport room, the doors immediately sliding open and revealing his team there waiting for him. “How’s Diana?”

Bruce didn’t respond right away, the tense silence deafening and answering the question. “Not good.”

Clark’s shoulders slumped slightly with the news. “Hang in there. We’ve got this.”

“Be careful.”

“Will do. Superman out,” he said, turning his attention to his team. “We need to be discrete, but quick and thorough when we get down there. If you find it, do not touch it. Call for the rest of us and start clearing the area as quickly as possible without creating mass panic. That’s the last thing we need right now.”

“Got it,” Kara agreed with a nod as she stepped up onto the transporter pad.

“The last one we found was in a box,” Clark informed his team. “There’s no predicting what we might find the device in this time so be prepared for anything.”

“The streets are going to be very busy with people already heading to work,” Flash reminded him. “We’re going to have to be as inconspicuous as possible.”

“Just like Chinatown,” Clark replied, his voice holding hope that he wasn’t feeling at that moment.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**_Metropolis; June 22nd, 07:29 EST_ **

Superman watched as the Daily Planet was being evacuated, people racing from the building and lining up on the opposite side of the street to see what was about to happen. The team had tried their best to keep the alarm at a minimum, but it had been more than difficult. Everyone suspected that something big was going on and wanted to stick around to find out what that something was, especially Lois Lane.

Flash had found the device that Ra’s had planted inside the basement of the Daily Planet, positioned near one of the vent systems. Deciding that taking preventative measures was their best option, they had swiftly moved to get everyone out of the building as quickly as possible to keep anyone from being infected.

Superman continually checked on Lois’s position, not trusting her to stay where she was supposed to. She was notorious for getting herself into trouble in order to get the story, keeping him in an almost constant state of worry over her.

He had promised to give her the story later if she promised to stay a safe distance away. She had reluctantly agreed, but he still couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t push the limits as hard as she could. The opportunity to get a big story was a little too tempting for Lois to ignore sometimes no matter how hard she tried.

Tapping his commlink, he decided to check in with his team to see how things were progressing. “Superman to Flash. How’s it going down there?”

“We’re in the process of trying to contain it, Supes,” Flash responded with his usual upbeat manner. “Supergirl is scanning it now. It looks like it’s about to—”

Wally’s voice abruptly broke off, causing Clark’s panic to rise. “What is it, Flash?”

“We got trouble down here, Supes!” Flash yelled. “Make sure everyone is away from the building!”

Superman immediately contacted his other team member. “Get those people away from the Planet, Canary.”

“I’m already on it,” she quickly replied. “Anyone gets out of line and I’ll just blast them with my Canary cry.”

“I’ll keep you posted,” Superman said.

“Is everyone out of the building?” Black Canary asked.

“Affirmative,” Superman responded before switching his commlink to Flash. “Flash, what’s happening? Do you need me down there?”

There was a lapse of several seconds before Flash finally responded, keeping Superman on a knife’s edge with worry that was about to spiral into fear. “No, Supergirl is using her freeze breath to try to contain the gas cloud right now.”

“Just keep clear of it and don’t let it get near you,” Superman told him.

“I think we’ve got it under control now,” Flash stated. “We’re all clear in here.”

Superman released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, his shoulders slumping slightly with relief. “I want the two of you to do another sweep of the building one more time to ensure there are no more dispersal devices in there before we begin to send people back inside.”

“Roger that, Supes,” Flash answered him. “We’re on it.”

“Canary, keep everyone back for now. Flash and Kara are doing a second sweep to make sure there are no more devices,” Superman informed her.

“Got it,” she responded.

Superman quickly searched the crowds for Lois only to find her trying to inch her way closer to where he was standing right outside the Daily Planet building. He couldn’t suppress the grin that threatened to form on his lips despite the direness of the situation that they had just managed to avoid with seconds to spare.

The thought of Lois being exposed to this deadly virus made him ill, but he tamped down on it as he approached her. “You promised you’d stay back,” he reminded her, his voice devoid of anger though he probably had every right to be after she had promised to behave herself.

“I did stay back,” she swore, giving him her best innocent expression. “I was just hoping to get a statement from the amazing Man of Steel, something that I could quote you on about what’s going on here.”

Superman folded his muscular arms over his equally muscular chest as he looked down at her, tilting his head as the corner of his mouth curved with affection. “I told you I’d give you the scoop, Lois. You know that I always keep my word.”

“I know, but my curiosity was getting the better of me,” she replied. “I couldn’t wait any longer. Something big is definitely going on here. Now spill it.”

Superman frowned slightly, trying to determine just how much exactly he should divulge. He couldn’t let his feelings for Lois cloud his judgment. If the public found out what Ra’s was up to, there would be mass hysteria around the world. On top of that, Lois would undoubtedly insert herself right into the heart of the search for Ra’s in order to be the first to get the headline. He couldn’t allow that to happen no matter what.

“We got a tip that someone planted a mysterious device inside the Daily Planet,” he ominously revealed. “We were able to find it and disarm it.”

Lois stared at him for a long moment, her violet eyes narrowing with disbelief. “That’s all?”

“Yes, that’s all,” Superman confirmed. “What more did you want?”

“Really?” she snapped with growing annoyance, her voice lowering into a hiss. “You know better than anyone else that I need more than that. How in the world am I supposed to come up with any sort of story with what you’ve given me?”

Superman grabbed her by the arm, gently pulling her aside where he could speak to her in private. “Look, you know I can’t tell you everything, Lois. If I could, I would give you more information, but it’s too dangerous right now.”

“You don’t have to protect me every single time something happens, you know,” she reminded him. “I can take care of myself.”

Clark rolled his eyes with that remark, shaking his head in amusement. “Do I need to remind you what happened to you last week?”

“No,” she growled with a scowl.

“Or how about the week before that with the car?”

“No,” she ground out, her eyes flashing in warning. “I remember.”

“Or how about—”

“All right! I get the picture!” she nearly shouted, swatting his arm with her notepad. “I swear you had better give me first dibs on the story or so help me I will make you pay dearly.”

Superman couldn’t help but chuckle with her empty threat, wiggling his eyebrows at her. “Is that a promise, Lois?”

“You know it is,” she said with a waspish glare, clearly unamused with his suggestive response. “Are we still on for this weekend?”

“I hope so,” he answered with a heavy sigh. “I’ve really missed you this week.”

“I’ve missed you too,” she murmured, giving him a sly smile. “Are how Bruce and Diana doing?”

Superman’s face grew sorrowful, revealing his fear for his friends. “I’m afraid they’re getting worse. I don’t know what we’re going to do, Lois. We’re running out of time and we’re no closer to finding a cure for them.”

“What’s happening here is connected to what’s going on with them, isn’t it?”

“You know I can’t confirm that, Lois,” he said with a frown.

“Well, tell me this,” Lois decided, changing course. “Have Bruce and Diana tried to kill each other yet?”

Clark relaxed to some extent with her question, the amusement playing in Lois’s eyes helping to calm him some. “They’ve come close a few times. It’s a wonder that the infirmary is still in one piece.”

“Supergirl to Superman,” Kara hailed him over his comm. “We’ve got a second device that’s leaking gas.”

“I’m on my way,” Superman stated with a fierce glare. “I’ve got to go. Stay back, Lois. Please…for me.”

The fear in his eyes told her more than enough. “Be careful, Clark,” she softly whispered, knowing that he alone would hear her.

He gave her a small smile before taking off, the speed with which he left causing her hair and skirt to flutter in the wind. She released a worried breath as she watched him leave her, knowing that he was putting himself right in the heart of trouble once again in order to protect her and everyone else. It was one of the countless reasons she loved him so much.

**_Gotham, Wayne Manor; June 22nd, 07:41 EST_ **

Dick threw his boots on the ground, furious with the night they had just had. He leaned forward, holding his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. It didn’t think he’d ever been so frustrated in his entire life as he was at this very moment.

Helplessness clung to him like a second skin, weighing him down. He had failed once again tonight to find any answers that might help save Bruce and Diana. They were rapidly running out of time and all they knew so far was that they had two villains to deal with instead of just one.

Poison Ivy was trying to take Gotham while Ra’s al Ghul was attempting to take the world. It was only a matter of time before one of them found success if they didn’t put an end to this soon. He wanted to get his hands on Ra’s, but Ivy was keeping him running in circles around Gotham trying to stop her before any more people were infected with her mind-altering spores.

He had thought for sure they were going to find her last night, but it had turned into another night of finding decoys while the real spores were being released in downtown Gotham. Twenty-two more people infected and quarantined at Gotham General with the other thirteen from the airport because he hadn’t been able to get there in time.

Thirty-five people infected now. They’d had to shut down an entire wing at the hospital to isolate them all and still have room for more should they come. It made Dick sick to his core. How many years had he spent with Bruce, training and observing, fighting and investigating? He should have a better handle on all of this than he did and yet it felt as though everything was falling apart around him, slipping through his fingers faster than he could possibly get a grasp on it.

“I thought you could use a cup of coffee.”

“Thanks, Alfred,” Dick mumbled without lifting his head or looking up.

He heard Alfred’s steps, the heels of his shoes softly scraping against the floor as he closed the distance between them. There was the almost inaudible sound of a weary sigh forcing Dick to look up to find Alfred had settled down on the bench across from him.

For the first time in the last five nightmarish days, Dick finally noticed the toll this all was beginning to take on the elderly British butler. The fine lines at the corners of his eyes seemed deeper, the fatigue that lined them more than evident. He looked like he had aged over the last week. It was disheartening to witness.

“Not a good night, I take it,” Alfred said as he handed Dick his cup of coffee.

Dick took it with a nod of his head, his gaze coming to rest on the dark liquid in his cup, the tiny wisps of steam rising from it. “No, it wasn’t.”

“Has Miss Zatanna left already?”

“Yes, I sent her home to get some sleep,” Dick revealed. “We were up all night running around Gotham like a dog trying to catch its tail. Ivy has us right where she wants us, Alfred, and I have no idea how to get ahead of her.”

“I’m sure you will figure it out, Master Dick,” he reassured him.

Dick shook his head as he stood to his feet. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. More people were infected by her damn spores last night. I have no idea how to cure it, no idea where or when she’s going to strike next, and no clue how to stop her.”

Alfred watched as Dick turned away from him, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He wished there was more he could do to help, feeling helpless himself. “This is not all on your shoulders to fix.”

“Bruce would’ve had this solved by now, Alfred,” he groused. “You know it and I know it. Thirty-five people are in Gotham General because I haven’t been able to stop this. On top of that, we’re no closer to saving Bruce and Diana from Ra’s’ virus.”

“Master Dick, you know as well as I do that none of this is your fault. You can’t expect to stop Poison Ivy and Ra’s al Ghul both. Not even Batman would be able to do that all at once.”

Dick whirled on his heel, fear flashing in his eyes. “Alfred, they’re going to die if we don’t come up with something to save them.”

Alfred stood to his feet, making his way over to the distressed young man before him. “You are not expected to come up with a cure or to stop Ra’s. You have one job to do and that is to protect Gotham by stopping Poison Ivy. That is all that Master Bruce expects you do. Now, you just need to find a way do it.”

“But how?” he softly asked.

Alfred smiled broadly at him, his hand coming to rest on his shoulder to squeeze it affectionately. “Master Bruce wouldn’t have chosen you to do it for him if he didn’t believe in you to get it done.”

Dick smiled softly in return, feeling a little better than he just had, but still couldn’t help feeling as though he was up against an insurmountable task. “I need to get inside of that abandoned chemical plant tonight. We were headed there when we got called for the decoys.”

“Sounds like you have a plan after all,” Alfred said as he turned to head back upstairs. “Master Timothy is anxiously awaiting your presence upstairs to eat breakfast with him.”

“I’ll be right up,” Dick called as he quickly began stripping off his uniform before heading to the showers.

Hopefully, tonight would be the night that Poison Ivy was stopped once and for all.

**_Watchtower Isolation; June 22nd, 10:30 EST_ **

J’onn silently entered the isolation room to find Diana unconscious, Bruce standing next to her bed as he stared out the window into the expanse of space with his arms folded against his chest. The window afforded a stunning view of earth and yet it taunted the Dark Knight with where J’onn knew that Bruce wanted to be.

The Martian felt the intense struggle within Batman without even needing to tap into his telepathic abilities, the overwhelming necessity to be down there finding Ra’s, the desire to stay here with her. The conflict within him was growing stronger with every passing day, more intense with Diana’s steady decline. It didn’t seem to matter to him that he wasn’t fairing well himself or that he’d soon be in the same condition that she was in now.

J’onn knew that it wasn’t helping matters any that there was also trouble brewing in Gotham no thanks to Poison Ivy. Bruce was being pulled in so many directions right now it was a wonder that he hadn’t cracked by now. It was a true testament to the strength of his mind and his will, his true character. Always thinking of others, but never himself. He was far more like the Amazon princess than most people took the time to appreciate.

“What do you need, J’onn?” he asked without turning around, his voice sounding dead even to him.

J’onn smiled to himself. He should have known that Bruce would sense his presence without physically turning around to see him. “I hopefully have some good news for you.”

Bruce whipped around, his expression morphing from one of smoldering fury to cautious hope. “What is it?”

“Atom and I believe that we may have an antidote that might work,” J’onn informed him. “We had some success with it when we tested it. We still don’t know if it’s the whole answer, but it might at least slow the progression of the virus down.”

“Do it,” Bruce adamantly stated without even asking any more questions. “Give it to Diana.”

“I don’t know if this will work and we only have enough for—”

“I don’t care,” Bruce interrupted him, his face set with determination, his blue eyes hard like cold steel. “Give it to Diana now.”

“I promise you we will continue to work on creating more medicine,” J’onn attempted to reassure him, but it didn’t appear to be necessary. Bruce’s resolution was blatantly obvious.

“All that matters right now is that she gets better,” he said. “I can wait…she can’t.”

“All right,” J’onn reluctantly agreed as he made his way to Diana, pulling back the covers enough to inject the medicine into her left arm. She shivered as he injected the medicine, her teeth chattering with the chill that had gripped her. He sincerely hoped that this worked, fearing how much time Diana had left and knowing that Bruce’s time was running out as well.

“Do you have any idea how long it will take before we notice anything?” Bruce asked, his gaze fixed solely on her.

J’onn shook his head. “I’m afraid I have no idea, but I’m hoping we’ll see some improvement within the next hour or two. Her healing ability makes it very difficult to determine how she’ll respond to the medicine especially with how the virus is impervious to her meta physiology.”

“Thank you, J’onn,” Bruce replied. “I know you have been working tirelessly on this. Whatever you can do to help is appreciated.”

J’onn was unable to speak in that moment, truly moved by Bruce’s gratitude. It wasn’t often that Batman handed out compliments, but when he did, it was not something to take lightly. “Thank you, Bruce. I appreciate that. We will not stop until we have found a cure for both of you.”

“Just save her, J’onn,” he softly said. “She’s all that matters right now.”

J’onn laid a gloved hand on Bruce’s arm. “You are both valued friends and colleagues, Bruce. We would suffer greatly if we lost either of you.”

Bruce nodded his head, his lips pursed in thought as he stared at the sleeping princess. This had to work, had to be the answer. He didn’t know how much longer she was going to be able to hang on. This damned virus was draining her strength, destroying her body and stealing her ability to fight back.

Settling into the chair beside her bed, he fought against the overwhelming urge to crawl into it with her. He had held her close for several hours last night, just listening to her slow steady breathing, savoring the feel of her soft skin against his, the way her feminine curves molded so perfectly against him as if she had been created just for him.

It hadn’t helped him any in his decision to ban her from his life when this was over. In fact, he found his resolve wavering a little more with every passing day. He needed to get out of here and away from her as soon as possible before he did something he would only end up regretting.

“Mother?”

The softly gasped word was barely audible, but it immediately caught his attention, making his heart leap as he leaned forward to take her hand in his. “Diana?”

Her eyes were half open now, tears beginning to trickle from the corners. “Mother…I’m so sorry…but I had to leave. The world needed help. I couldn’t stay back and do nothing.”

Confused, Bruce turned to look at the foot of her bed to find no one standing there. “Diana, there’s no one there,” he told her with a shake of his head as he turned his attention back to her. “I’m the only one here with you now.”

“Even though it hurt, I don’t hate you for banishing me from Themyscira,” Diana spoke regardless of what Bruce had said. “I hope someday you’ll understand. I…I miss you, mother…and my sisters.”

Bruce took her hand, sensing her loneliness and grief. He knew that her exile had hurt her far deeper than she had let on, but she had never expressed it. Instead, she had thrown herself into her message of peace, tucking away her pain to focus on her duties with the League. 

His admiration and respect for her had only grown as he had watched her deal with her exile over time. It had done little, however, to diminish his own anger with the Queen of the Amazons for what she had done to Diana. It was something that he would never forgive Hippolyta for.

“Mother…I…I’ve met someone…a man,” she continued to ramble, the breathing mask muffling her words. Tears continued to trickle down her cheeks, sliding around the breathing mask that covered her nose and mouth. “I know an Amazon is forbidden from falling love with a man…but I can’t help these feelings I have for him.”

Bruce instantly stiffened with her heartfelt confession, hot jealousy unexpectedly swimming through his veins. He grew tense, his heart beginning to pound harder in anticipation of who this man was that she had feelings for. He held his breath, a sense of despair washing over him. He couldn’t help but hope that it was him, but he knew that he shouldn’t. Not with anyone…especially her.

Just knowing her seemed to fill all the empty places inside of him, the painful void that life had created. Without even trying, she had somehow managed to temper a measure of the bitterness and rage that he carried deep in his bones, casting a warm light in his life.

“He is the strongest man I have ever known…in so many ways,” she explained, her expression abruptly growing hard. She glared straight ahead, trying to sit up. “He is worthy of my feelings for him, mother. Please! You…you don’t understand!”

Bruce moved from the chair to her bed, hoping to calm her. Her oxygen levels were declining, her pulse racing. “Diana, look at me,” he sharply said, leaning over her as he firmly grasped both of her shoulders. “Hippolyta is not here. It’s only me…Bruce.”

“She…she doesn’t understand…how I feel about him,” she murmured as she turned her focus on him, tears still falling as she tried again to sit up. “I…I can’t lose him. He means everything…to me.”

Her words cut deep, causing his throat to constrict. She had feelings for someone else, a man who wasn’t him. It hurt far worse than anything he’d ever experienced before, save for the violent death of his parents. This was crushing in a way that he hadn’t anticipated, but he kept telling himself it was for the best.

Her blue eyes were glazed as she tried to make sense of it all, her mind racing to understand. “Why can’t she understand? Why can’t she be happy for me?”

“Your mother is not here, Princess,” he gently told her again, fighting back the tears that burned behind his eyes and in his throat. “The fever from the virus is causing you to hallucinate. You need to hang on. J’onn gave you something that will help you feel better soon.”

Diana stared at him for a moment longer, her eyes falling closed as she finally relaxed back against the pillows. “Mother…please you have to understand. I…I love him.”

Bruce swallowed hard, his fingers curling into fists. His jaw was clenched as he fought against the escalating wave of fury that threatened to drown him. Why did their lives have to be like this? Why couldn’t he just admit that he loved her and let her into his life? Why did he have to be so broken and twisted?

Standing to his feet, he turned his back to her, unable to bear seeing her like this, knowing that her heart belonged to someone else. He knew the answers to his questions, had reminded himself of it thousands of times over the years. 

Happiness and love, a life shared with someone—these things were meant for others, not him.

“Bruce?”

At the sound of his name being spoken by her, he turned around to find her staring at him. Her eyelids were barely open, but he could see the cloud of confusion still lingering there. He couldn’t make his legs work in that moment as they stared at one another, his emotions too raw.

He was never meant to fall in love with this woman, but she seemed to always make him lose his grip on his self-control and it scared the hell out of him, especially since she had managed to find her way into his heart. He knew that he was destined to die old and alone in the city that he had pledged his life to protect, not fall in love.

He didn’t know who he was if he wasn’t in complete control at all times, if he didn’t have the dark rage inside of him to cling to and feed off of. It’s what helped drive him, kept him fighting despite the odds. She made him want to turn his back on that rage and grasp onto her with all that he had.

He knew in his heart that she was the only one who could ever save him, but he didn’t deserve to be saved and especially not by her. He was too damaged, his heart so broken that he couldn’t allow her near it. She would only end up getting hurt, shredded by the jagged pieces that lay in his chest. 

And yet, he couldn’t help the words that kept repeating in his mind. _“If she could only love me the way that I love her.”_

“Bruce, where…where are we?” she asked, confused.

“We’re in isolation on the Watchtower,” he finally managed to make his voice work along with his legs. He closed the distance between them, sitting in the chair by her bed once more. “We were exposed to a virus. Don’t you remember?”

Panic flashed in her eyes as she suddenly grabbed hold of his hand, her death grip on it almost painful. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Princess,” he attempted to ease her fears, wondering how she could possibly be worried about him when she was struggling just to breathe. He also couldn’t help wondering how much of what she had just told him about being in love with someone that she actually remembered confessing.

Diana scowled as she pulled off the oxygen mask, a degree of stubborn annoyance returning to her eyes. It was a welcome sight to Bruce to see a small measure of fire return to her eyes despite the fact that she refused to keep her breathing mask on.

“If you’re fine, why are you hooked up to oxygen?” she pointedly asked, the confusion that had clouded her mind lifting. She remembered what had happened and why they were here.

“Diana, don’t worry about me,” he told her, a hard edge to his voice. “You need to worry about getting better. J’onn gave you some medicine that will hopefully help you.”

She seemed to relax a little with the news, the painful grip on his hand loosening slightly. At least he could feel his fingers again. She was definitely making saying goodbye to her more than difficult, but knowing that she had feelings for someone else was making it that much more painful, not easier.

“What about you? Did you get the medicine too?”

“No,” he replied with a shake of his head. “There was only enough for one so far, but they’re working on creating more.”

“Bruce!” she yelled, but it only came out as a wheezing gasp. Nevertheless, her anger with him was still more than clear especially when she yanked her hand free from his. “You should have had the medicine…not me.”

“Yes, because you’re doing so well,” he snapped, his anger resurfacing like the flip of a switch. “You’re dying, Diana. I’m not just going to sit back and let that happen.”

“I can heal…faster than you,” she hoarsely responded, her breathing growing more labored without the breathing mask. “You won’t hold out…for as long as I can.”

“I’ve had a lot worse than this,” he ground out. “You already risked your life once for me. I’m not about to let you do it again.”

“You…arrogant…stubborn…egotistical jerk,” she bit out as angry tears brimmed in her eyes.

A breathless string of Greek curses quickly followed after that, pushing Bruce over the edge. He couldn’t take it anymore, the tension between them nearly crushing as he swiftly moved to sit on the edge of her bed. She glared daggers at him, her fists clenched and more than anxious to pound him.

“Stay away…from me,” she threatened but it was hardly fearsome with her current condition.

“You have to wear your breathing mask,” he growled, reaching for it.

She batted his hands away from her, inflaming his anger even more. Without a second thought, he grabbed her wrists, his lips crashing into hers in a fierce kiss. She struggled weakly against his hold, but soon returned his kiss in full, her lips parting and pleading for more.

He hungrily answered her, tilting his head as his tongue explored the warm cavern of her mouth, hot desire spiking through his veins. The taste of her, the feel of her soft warm lips against his was more amazing than anything that he’d ever known before, making him lightheaded with the need for more of her.

Realization began to wash over him as he buried his hand in her thick raven tendrils, fisting it tightly. He abruptly pulled back, guilt welling inside of him. He was angered and appalled by his actions, his loss of control. At the same time, he was taken aback to find her blue eyes aflame with desire as well. 

He stared at her for a long moment, trying to catch his breath and finding her in the same frantic state he was in. He fought the intense desire to kiss her again, releasing his hold on her and grabbing the breathing mask instead. He carefully put it back on her face flushed with fever as well as something more that he couldn’t allow himself to even think about.

Her need for him turned into confusion, her forehead creasing. “Bruce?”

“Shhh, you need to rest right now, Princess,” he softly told her as he gently caressed her cheek. “You need to get better. Do you hear me?”

Diana silently nodded her head, wanting to say more, to tell him what burned in her heart, but she was finding it difficult to keep her eyes open. She wanted more from him, wanted to talk about what had just happened between them and what it meant. She needed to know if he truly had feelings for her or this was all just a game to him.

“Bruce, please…”

Guilt made his stomach churn, what he wanted most waging war with what he knew he had to do. “I’m sorry, Princess. We’ll take later,” he promised her, swallowing hard as her eyes fell closed. “You should rest now. I need you to get better.”

He watched as she fell unconscious again, her breathing beginning to even out once more. It caused his heart to sink like a rock. That kiss had been wonderful, better than his dreams and leaving him hungry for so much more with her, but he couldn’t. He needed to get out of here and stop Ra’s before it was too late, needed to get as far away from her as possible.

It was time to leave, to escape isolation and go after Ra’s. It couldn’t wait any longer… _she_ couldn’t wait any longer. He reached out to caress her cheek before moving to stroke her silky hair. “Goodbye, Princess,” he whispered, finding it more than difficult to make his voice work. “I’m sorry I can’t be what you need…what you deserve. I want to more than anything in this world, but I…I can’t.”

Bruce leaned down, pressing his lips against her forehead. Pulling back, he stood to his feet, feeling the room begin to spin. His hands instantly gripped her bedrail in an effort to stay upright. He broke out in a cold sweat, his legs feeling like rubber as he suddenly fell to the floor, his world going black.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

**_Oa; June 22nd, 09:47 EST_ **

Shayera sat with her elbows resting on the table before her with her head cradled in her hands. The information that she and John had received so far from Arkkis Chummuck had been anything but encouraging. Every time they seemed to get even the smallest flicker of hope, it was summarily snuffed out in the next breath.

She heard John and Arkkis Chummuck talking, but their words were like a distant echo, one that she didn’t want to hear or begin to interpret. All she knew was that her friends were dying and she had never felt so helpless to stop it in her entire life.

She felt as though she had just gotten her friends back…her family, finally accepted back into the fold and trusted as one of them again after the horrible mess she had made of things. Now, she was on the verge of losing two of her friends forever. It was something that she couldn’t begin to process let alone accept.

She was a warrior, a fighter. She flew headlong into a battle with mace clutched tightly in her grip and a purpose in her heart to stop the enemy no matter the odds. But this wasn’t something that she could fight with her mace or her strength, her warrior spirit. This wasn’t something she could get her hands on or even see and it left her feeling lost.

Shay felt his large hand come to rest on her thigh, caressing and comforting and silently promising more when they were finally alone again. She forced herself to lift her head, her hand slipping beneath the table to capture his hand firmly in hers.

“How many have died from this so far, Arkkis?” Shayera asked.

Arkkis’ face grew remorseful, his eyes already telling her more than she wanted to know. “Last count was twenty-two, but I’m sure there have been more since I left Ranstad-7 a couple of days ago.”

“And no one has been able to develop a cure for this yet?”

“No,” he regretfully replied with a sad shake of his head. “Scientists and doctors on Ranstand-7 have been working frantically in hopes of even slowing it down, but nothing seems to be working.”

“There has to be a way to stop this,” Shay snapped, her anger getting the better of her. “You can’t tell me there is no answer to this. There has to be a cure somewhere.”

John tightened his hold on Shay’s hand as he turned to look at her. “I’m sure there is one somewhere. We just have to keep looking for it.”

“How long ago were your friends infected?” Arkkis inquired.

“It’s been about five days ago now,” John replied, turning his attention back to his friend.

“I hate to alarm you, but most have been dead within seven days of exposure. Only a couple have lasted for eight days. They could be gone by the time you return home.”

Shayera pulled free from John’s hold on her hand as she leapt to her feet, the legs of her chair scraping along the steel floor with her sudden movement. She couldn’t sit here and listen to this any longer. They had to do something, find some way to save them before it was too late. She wanted to pound her fists and scream, to unleash all of her pent up hurt and rage. She needed to get some air before she drove her mace through the table.

John looked up in surprise to see Shayera stalking out of the room. He wanted to go after her, but he needed to talk to Arkkis Chummuck. Any information he could provide could prove valuable later. They had to remain focused on the bigger picture. As difficult as it was to watch as their friends slowly died, they had to remain vigilant in order to save not only their world, but other worlds now too.

“Is she all right?” Arkkis Chummuck asked, concerned as he stared at the door Shayera had just stormed through.

“No, but she will be,” John said with a sigh. “She’s taking all of this rather hard.”

“I understand,” Arkkis Chummuck remarked. “It has been grueling watching this contagion as it wipes out one family after another, everyone looking to me for answers and there’s nothing I can do to help them or stop it from happening.”

“Can you think of anyone out there with the capability of creating something like this?” John asked.

“You know I’ve been asking myself that very same question for weeks now and I just can’t come up with anything.”

“How about anything that you may have investigated or any strange occurrences you have noticed over the last few months?” he asked, noticing how Arkkis’ expression changed. It was as if a light had suddenly gone on inside his friend’s head. “What is it?”

“I just happened to remember something that I hadn’t put much stock in at the time, but there was a man by the name of Tamus who had mysteriously disappeared about three months after his wife and children were killed in an accident.”

“And you think that he could have something to do with all of this?”

“When I investigated his disappearance a couple of months ago, someone had reported seeing Sinestro with him just before he went missing,” Arkkis revealed. “The witness was a known drunk who lives on the streets so I didn’t put too much stock in it at the time, but what if Sinestro really was there? Do you think that he could be involved in this somehow?”

“Anything’s possible when it comes to Sinestro,” John ground out, his hands automatically flexing into fists with the mention of the villain’s name. 

“Why would he spread a contagion like this?” Arkkis questioned him. “It doesn’t sound like his type of thing.”

“It’s just what you said,” John replied. “Everyone is looking to you to help them and there’s nothing you can do. I wouldn’t be surprised if this contagion shows up on other planets soon.”

“This is a nightmare.”

“What did this Tamus do for a living?” John asked.

“He was actually a brilliant biological engineer,” he stated. “He was working in research.”

John immediately felt his stomach churn with dread. “Do you know where this man is now?”

Arkkis Chummuck shook his head. “None,” he replied. “We searched for almost a week with no sign of him anywhere. The search was eventually called off. He was inconsolable after his wife and children died…hysterical even. Everyone assumed that he must have gone off somewhere to end his life.”

“How did his family die?”

Arkkis Chummuck frowned. “It was a rather freak accident. The vehicle they were travelling in was just swallowed up in a large fissure that had suddenly erupted out of nowhere. It was believed to have been created by some tectonic plate shifting in the planet’s crust.”

“Yah, I’m sure that’s what caused it,” John snorted derisively as he thought through it all. “I’ll bet you ten to one that Sinestro has been behind this whole thing from the very beginning.”

Arkkis Chummuck stood up, more than a little furious with himself as he slammed his fist down on the table before him. “I should have seen this. If I had, then maybe I could have prevented the deaths of so many innocent people.”

“It’s not your fault, Arkkis,” John reassured him as he stood to his feet as well. “This is all on Sinestro’s head. We just need to find him and force him give us the antidote before it’s too late.”

“Let’s go to the command center and see if anyone knows of Sinestro’s last known location,” Arkkis suggested.

“I’ll go get Shayera and meet you there,” John readily agreed as he quickly left the room to find Shay, somewhat relieved that they finally had gotten the break they had been looking for.

_**Watchtower Isolation; June 22nd, 14:03 EST** _

“What happened?”

J’onn looked up as Superman entered isolation in a hazmat suit, his expression more than a little troubled. It was not a look that was commonly seen on the face of the Man of Steel unless the situation was critical, but things were rapidly becoming that way where Bruce and Diana were concerned.

“Bruce is unconscious now,” J’onn regretfully informed him. “His fever spiked again. I’ve given him medicine to prevent another seizure, but I don’t know how long that will last. It won’t be long before the medicine has no effect on them.”

Clark turned his attention to his other best friend lying in the bed next to Bruce’s. Diana’s face was pale, her cheeks flushed with fever once again. She didn’t seem to be doing any better than Bruce was at that moment. 

“How is she?” he softly asked. “Is she doing any better?”

“We tried a new medicine this morning that Atom and I were able to create in hopes of slowing the virus down,” he informed him. “So far, it seems to have helped a little, but I’m afraid it hasn’t been overly successful as of yet. I’m hoping that maybe a second dose will make a difference.”

“Bruce?”

Clark turned towards the sound of Diana’s voice; more than a little relieved she was awake again. The weak sound of her voice did little to ease his worry. “Diana, it’s Clark.”

“Bruce?” she asked again as she looked at him though hooded eyes. “I…I have to talk to him.”

Clark sat down on the edge of her bed, taking her hand in his. “Diana, he can’t talk to you right now. He’s unconscious. His fever has returned again.”

A single tear escaped from the corner of her eye, slowly rolling down her cheek as she stared at him in confusion. “I have to talk to him. I…I have to tell him I love him.”

Clark’s heart sank with her confession, wishing more than anything that she could talk to Bruce. If Bruce knew how she truly felt about him, maybe he would actually let her in and let her see that he shared her feelings. He feared, though, that his friends had missed out on their chance for a relationship. Even if they could find an antidote in time, how fully would they actually recover from what they had been through?

It had taken him some time to actually see it, but once he had recognized the attraction between them, it was undeniable and impossible to miss. He couldn’t help but feel the intense emotions that connected Bruce and Diana, surging like a powerful current between the two of them every time they were anywhere near one another.

“I know you do, Di,” he gently told her, his heart tightening with grief. “I’m so sorry, but Bruce isn’t doing very well right now.”

“No,” she murmured, her tears falling faster as she shook her head in denial. “He…he can’t. He doesn’t know how I feel. I have to tell him. He can’t die, Kal.”

Diana tried to sit up, more than determined to get to Bruce. She was met by strong but gentle hands pushing her back against her pillows. “You’re not going anywhere, Di,” Clark sternly told her. “You’re in no condition to be out of this bed.”

Her fist connected with his chest in frustrated anger, her other fist following, but her blows were anything but painful. She had neither the strength behind her strikes nor the heart to inflict any actual pain. It was fueled by a fury that burned in her soul and a painful ache in her heart that only deepened knowing that Bruce was dying.

Clark allowed her to vent her anger, beating her heartache out against his chest until she finally collapsed back against the pillows again in exhaustion. Tears silently trickled down her face as Clark gently gathered her into his arms and held her close.

“I’m so sorry, Diana,” he whispered as he stroked her hair, tears brimming in his own eyes. “I promise we’re doing everything we can to save you both. This isn’t over yet.”

Diana buried her face in his chest, clutching at his hazmat uniform as she cried her frustrations and hurts. She was ashamed of her tears, embarrassed that she was showing such vulnerability and emotion, but she could contain it no longer. Too much had happened; too much hurt consumed her at that moment.

She turned her head as her tears began to cease to see Bruce lying unconscious in the bed next to hers. She laid her head against Clark’s chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear as she gripped his suit in her hands. Bruce was laying so still, his breathing added by the oxygen mask he wore. She wanted to slip into his bed next to him and hold him in her arms, bury his face in the crook of his neck and to tell him everything that she had kept hidden in her heart.

They had flirted and skirted around feelings that had remained unspoken, hoping that there might be more but never fully giving voice to it. She had hinted at a relationship with him a few times only to be turned away, but they had never really talked about what it was that had been steadily developing between them, what she hoped was there.

She hadn’t even fully realized what it was that she had actually been feeling for him until recently and now she’d never have the chance to tell him that she had been hopelessly falling in love with him. It had started right after he had tried to dig her out from under that missile in Gorilla City, but her curiosity had been piqued from the moment they had met. She never told him that she thought he was the most extraordinary man that she had ever met, never ceasing to fascinate her in everything he did.

She loved everything about him, loved his strengths as well as the broken, twisted pieces he tried to keep well-hidden. She loved the Bat and the man, the dark and the faint glimmers of light that occasional peeked through despite his belief that it didn’t exist inside of him.

More than anything she loved his heart—so strong and selfless, so full of compassion after everything he had endured in his life. It had been far more than any one person should ever have to go through. She just wanted to show him the kind of life that he deserved, the true depths of her love for him.

Clark didn’t know how long he held her, but he didn’t want to let her go even after she went limp against him. Letting go of her felt like saying goodbye and he couldn’t do that yet. Even though he was the strongest man in the whole world, he wasn’t nearly strong enough to deal with this.

He finally forced himself to release his hold on her, gently laying her back down and drawing the covers over her again. He ran a gloved hand along her cheek before turning his attention to his other best friend, finding him still unconscious.

“Bruce, you have to fight,” Clark told him. “Diana needs you…we all need you.”

He watched him for a moment longer, hoping for some sort of response. Receiving none, he began to turn away only to be stopped by the murmured sound of his name. He swiftly turned back, relieved to see his friend’s eyes partially opened.

“Bruce,” Clark breathed his name as he returned to his bedside. “How are you feeling?”

“How’s Diana?” Bruce asked as if not hearing Clark’s question.

His voice was raspy, but not the deep, intimidating scrape of the Batman. It was more like the rasp of death. It unnerved Clark to see his friend like this. “She’s holding her own for the moment.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he bit out, trying to sit up so he could get a glimpse of her.

“Bruce, you need to stay in bed,” Clark practically ordered him. Didn’t he just have this same argument with Diana not a few minutes ago?

Bruce caught a glimpse of Diana lying so still in her bed, her breathing ragged. “I have to get out of here,” he said, his fingers wrapping around his bedrail as he attempted to sit up again. “I have to get down there and find Ra’s…before it’s too late.”

“You are not going anywhere,” Clark firmly stated, pushing him back into bed with only his forefinger. “You are in no condition to be going anywhere and you know it.”

Bruce scowled at him, ripping his breathing mask off. “You don’t understand,” he growled. “I have to find Ra’s…and stop this before she dies.”

“I will break both of your legs to keep you in here if necessary,” Clark threatened him.

“No, you won’t,” he snapped at him with a fierce glare. “You don’t have it…in you, Boy Scout.”

Bruce began coughing violently as he sat up on the edge of the bed, his hand clutching the bedrail as he struggled for each breath he drew. Clark sat down on the edge of the bed beside him, grabbing the oxygen mask and handing it to him. Bruce glared at him as he snatched it out of his hands, holding it up to his face so he could breathe again. 

“Still planning on going down there and facing Ra’s or are you going to listen to me now?” Clark asked him.

Bruce grunted something indecipherable and more than likely crude as he sucked in large gasps of air, but his dark glower spoke volumes. “How did it go in Metropolis?” he finally asked after several moments.

“Two devices this time,” he told him. “Flash and Supergirl were able to stop them just as they began releasing the contagion. No one was infected.”

“This time,” Bruce grumbled. “It’s only a matter of time…before Ra’s gets any further ahead of us.”

“I’m glad to see that your sunny disposition hasn’t been dampened by any of this,” Clark muttered with a shake of his head. “You need to rest, Bruce. You’re not doing anyone any good by pushing yourself like this.”

“I need to find Ra’s before any more people become infected,” he snapped.

“I will tie you to that bed if I have to in order to keep you here,” Clark threatened him.

Bruce’s eyes narrowed into a heated scowl as he turned his head towards him. “Do you really think that will stop me?”

“Bruce, you can hardly hold your head up,” Clark pointed out. “I hardly think you’re capable of walking right now let alone trying to escape your bed.”

“Watch me,” he growled. Unfortunately, his growl managed to trigger another coughing attack that stole his breath. It incited sympathy and concern in the Man of Steel instead of the intended intimidation he had been aiming for.

“You’re pathetic, you know that?” Clark ground out in exasperation. “You are fooling yourself if you think that you’re going to be able to go up against Ra’s in this condition and you’re an even bigger fool for not telling Diana you love her.”

Bruce was somewhat rattled by Clark’s last words, feeling as though as he had just been punched in the gut. It was one thing to think it, but it was a whole other matter to hear it spoken out loud. It made it all the more real, more frightening to actually face. He didn’t want to have these feelings for her, didn’t want to be in love. He didn’t have time for this nor did he want to deal with it.

He was too damaged for love, too enmeshed in his mission to save Gotham to ever give it up for someone. She needed someone far better than him. He wasn’t capable of giving her what she needed…was he?

Clark watched as Bruce’s walls went up, grappling with the feelings that consumed his heart. Ignoring him, Bruce shifted back into his bed, unable to withstand the exertion it took to remain upright. He fell back against the pillows with a grunt of exhaustion, his ribs still sore after being slammed into by Diana.

“You can try to ignore it all you want, but sooner or later, you’re going to have to face it,” Clark lectured him, hoping something of what he said was getting through that thick head of his. “Is she not good enough for you?”

“What? No!” Bruce exclaimed, shocked by the very notion that Diana wasn’t good enough for him. “It’s none of your business, Kent. Stay out of it.”

“What if she dies?” Clark pressed. “What are you going to do about it then?”

“Diana is not going to die,” he hissed.

“Look at her, Bruce,” he cried, pointing at the woman lying in the next bed. “Barring a miracle, neither of you is going to survive this.”

“Then there’s no reason to bring it up now is there?” he stubbornly bit out.

Clark didn’t miss the heartache that momentarily clouded Bruce’s eyes. He wasn’t going to let this go, not if he could make him see what was right in front of him. “Aren’t even a couple of days spent with the woman you love worth something to you? Knowing and sharing in that love better than just letting her die believing that you never gave a damn about her?”

For once, Bruce didn’t have an argument or the strength to even muster one. Clark’s words had just carved a deep hole in his heart. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the fact that he was losing her or because he’d never really had her to begin with. Either way, it hurt like hell; far more than he had ever dreamed was possible.

Seeing the way that Bruce was shutting down, Clark decided not to push him anymore…at least for now. He was going to have to figure this one out for himself. “Get some rest, Bruce,” he softly said as he stood to his feet. “I’m sure we’ll get Ra’s soon.”

Bruce could only nod his head as Clark turned to leave, his mind whirling with everything that his friend had just said to him. He couldn’t help but glance at the princess in the bed next to his, knowing that if she died, she’d take his heart with her. He would be nothing but a shell of the man that he once had been, dead inside and yet barely living.

**_Gotham; June 23rd, 00:57 EST_ **

“I have a feeling this is it, gang,” Nightwing softly said into his commlink. “Are we ready to go in?”

“You really think Poison Ivy is in there?” Etrigen questioned him.

“Hey, we’ve done all the leg work and this is the most obvious place for her to be hiding out now,” Zatanna cut in from her position.

“Okay, okay,” Etrigen replied with a slight growl to his deep voice. “I just wanted to make sure she was really in there.”

“Oracle narrowed it down to five chemical plants in Gotham, three of which are abandoned,” Nightwing explained again. “We checked out two of them so far and this is the only one left.”

“I never said I was against this,” Etrigen claimed. “You know I’m always up for a good surprise attack.”

“Can we just do this already?” Zatanna hissed in frustration. “The sooner we get this crazy plant lover back into Arkham, the sooner Gotham is safe and I can get back to my shows.”

“I’m ready when you two are,” Etrigen told them.

“We will go in five,” Nightwing decided. “Just be careful. Her new spores pack a punch.”

“See you two in there,” Zatanna said before going dark.

Zatanna slipped through the darkness, her magic wand in hand as she stayed close to the shadows. Her eyes continuously scanned the area, anticipating a run in with one of Ivy’s goons. Ivy may be obsessed with her plants, but she was smart. Very smart. She wouldn’t just rely on her hopes that she wouldn’t be discovered here. She’d have some sort of defense measure in place to protect not only herself, but her precious plants…her highly dangerous, people-eating plants.

She could hear thunder rolling in the distance, brief flashes of lightning temporarily lighting up the night sky as she slipped inside the abandoned chemical plant through a side door that had been left unlocked. It was either because Ivy was overly confident in her vegetative security system or very foolish. She was hoping for the latter.

The only sound she heard was the pounding of her heart in her ears and the soft, steady click of her heels against the concrete. The musty smell of the abandoned building mingled with the fresh scent of rain that filled the air. Turned over barrels and trash littered the floor, broken equipment long forgotten sat silently staring at her, refusing to give up any secrets about what had been going on here.

She stealthily made her way deeper into the plant, anxious to get this over with. Once this crazy witch was out of commission then maybe things could begin to get back to normal around here…or as normal as things ever got in Gotham.

There was the still the task of saving Bruce and Diana, though. Thoughts of losing them swirled in her mind, threatening to steal her focus. As much as she was worried about them, she knew she couldn’t let it distract her. Taking Ivy out was top priority right now. She knew that’s exactly what Bruce would say, wanting them to stop Ivy instead of worrying about him.

The thought made her smile to herself. She could practically hear his voice in her head. It was for him and Gotham that she was there, but also for Nightwing. Despite everything that had happened, she had really enjoyed partnering with him on this mission.

“Looky what we found, Al.”

“Yah, she’s awful pretty. Love those fishnet stockings, Ed.”

Zatanna froze at the sound of their voices coming from behind her. Her lips curled as she slowly turned around, deciding to have a little fun before going after the big fish. “So you like what you see, do you?” she asked the two large men standing behind her, her hand finding her hip.

Ed and Al admired what they saw, lecherous smirks forming on their faces as they studied her. “She’s definitely a looker,” Ed said.

“The magic costume’s hot,” Al agreed. “Did ya get lost, little lady?”

“Yah, watcha doin’ in this part of Gotham? Ya could get hurt, ya know,” Ed stated with a darkening gaze that was anything but innocent.

“I’m actually looking for your boss,” Zatanna revealed, unfazed by their presence or leering stares. They were no threat to her. They were only slowing her down from helping catch Ivy. “She’s been a naughty girl, trying to take over Gotham.”

Al began to laugh, his hand moving to his gun. “Ya know we can’t let ya near her, honey.”

“I bet I could change your minds,” Zatanna sweetly countered.

“And how exactly do you plan on doing that?” Ed asked, curious.

He didn’t have to wait long for an answer when he received a boot to his back that sent him flying forward onto the floor. Momentarily stunned, Al did waste any time, pulling his gun and spinning on his heel to take out whoever it was that had snuck on them from behind only to find no one there.

Ed scrambled to get to his feet as he reached for the gun that had slipped from his hand, but Zatanna was more than done with these goons. “Epor!” she commanded with a wave of her wand.

Rope that had been lying on the floor abruptly came to life, slithering like a snake and swiftly wrapping around Ed. “Hey! What the—” he began to yell as his arms became trapped against his body.

“Maeb!” Zatanna yelled with a wave of her wand, watching in amusement as the rope shot towards the ceiling, pulling a struggling Ed with it.

The rope spun around the steel beam, hanging Ed upside down. “Hey! Get me down!” he shouted. “I’m gonna get ya when I get free!”

“I think I’ve had just about enough of your mouth,” Zatanna decided, swirling her wand around towards the man hanging upside down.

The rope swiftly moved to wrap around his mouth several times, keeping him from making any more noise. Satisfied that he had been taken care of, she turned her attention to Al, disappointed to find him lying unconscious on the ground with Etrigen standing over him.

“I could have handled both of them,” she told him, frowning at him as she used her magic to tie him up beside his friend.

“I know, but we don’t have time,” Etrigen countered. “Nightwing is already heading towards the center of the plant and I don’t want to miss out on all the fun.”

“Fine,” she replied, turning on her heel. “Let’s go then.”

Etrigen quickly followed the magician, his eyes darting from side to side in an effort to spot anymore trouble before it snuck up on them. So far it seemed as though Ivy was relying heavily on her plants to protect her instead of manpower which was a little disappointing. He was more than anxious for a fight, not to pull weeds or wrestle a rhododendron.

“If you see blue gas, don’t breathe,” Zatanna whispered in warning as they worked their way through the abandoned plant.

“Don’t worry about me,” Etrigen replied. “Once I get my hands on Ivy, she won’t be releasing anymore of her toxic gas any time soon.”

They carefully and quietly wound their way towards Nightwing and their predetermined rendezvous spot. Zatanna didn’t like this at all as she followed close behind Etrigen. This was all a little too easy, the lack of security around here rather unnerving.

Her concerns were soon put to rest when they found themselves in what used to be the heart of the chemical plant, but what was now a virtual Garden of Eden.

“Ah, more visitors have arrived to my garden paradise.”

The sound of Poison Ivy’s voice drifted through and around them as if coming from everywhere at once. Etrigen and Zatanna turned in tight circles, trying to figure out where she was at. That’s when Zatanna spotted Nightwing strung up by ivy vines that held him fast as if it was rope. He was struggling to break free, but the more he fought against the plants that kept him bound, the tighter the vines’ hold became.

Zatanna waved her wand, casting a spell that caused the vines to turn into tissue paper. Nightwing immediately fell, dropping to the ground and landing on his hands and knees as Poison Ivy released a furious scream.

“You witch!” she cried. “You will pay dearly for hurting my precious baby!”

“Get over it, Ivy!” Zatanna yelled. “Your beloved plants are the least of your worries right now.”

“Zee, we better move quickly,” Etrigen growled as vines from countless plants began moving towards them from every side.

“You won’t be able to fight all my plants at once,” Ivy told them with a throaty chuckle. “Finish them off!”

The entire room seemed to come to life before them, every stem, leaf, and vine moving on command in an effort to stop them. Etrigen began releasing balls of fire, causing plants to burst into flames while Zatanna used her magic to tie the vines into thick, unbreakable knots.

“I’m going after Ivy!” Nightwing called to them.

“We’ll be there as soon as we can,” Zatanna told him as she quickly sidestepped a nasty looking vine with two inch thorns.

Nightwing took off with batarang in hand, slicing his way through the tropical nightmare that tried to stop him from getting to Ivy. Plants withered and recoiled, hissing their fury as batbombs exploded, clearing a path for him.

Spotting Ivy with a man he’d never seen before, he chased after them, pulling his escrima sticks as he ran. “Give it up, Ivy! It’s over!”

“It’s not over until I have taken Gotham and turned it into the paradise that it was meant to be,” she yelled as she turned to face Nightwing, a sneer twisting her lips. “Did daddy Bat send you to stop me because he couldn’t do it himself?”

“Batman is taking care of a lot bigger fish than you right now,” Nightwing shot back, coming to a stop several feet away from him.

He risked a glance at the man standing behind Ivy. He didn’t look like any of Ivy’s usual goons. He looked like a scientist, one that had gone missing a few months ago that he had seen in Bruce’s ongoing case files. He was more than likely working under her mind control, helping her with the new spores she’d been spreading around Gotham. In fact, he fit the size and build of the man caught on video at Gotham Airport with the backpack.

“So how much of your pheromone did it take to make him do your bidding?”Nightwing asked as they began circling one another.

“I love her!” Alex angrily yelled.

Ivy smirked at Nightwing, shrugging a shoulder. “Obviously enough,” she replied. “He’s an amazing lover.”

“Well, you won’t get to see your boyfriend when you’re locked up in Arkham,” he reminded her. “They don’t allow conjugal visits there. Besides, do you really think he’ll still want you once your potion has worn off?”

Ivy’s smirk turned into his a snarl as she lunged at him. “You are not going to ruin everything I’ve worked so hard for!”

She twisted and turned, kicking out her leg. Her four inch spike heel attempted to impale him, but Nightwing swiftly pulled back, throwing up his sticks and knocking her off balance. Alex ran to her side to help her, but she shoved him back as she got back up on her feet.

“Stay back,” she ordered him. “This little bird is all mine.”

“Come and get me, Ivy,” Dick taunted her, waving his sticks at her.

Using her anger against her, Dick attacked with a vengeance, trading kicks and strikes. Ivy’s anger and frustration began to get the better of her, causing her to underestimate his abilities and she tried to claw at his face. As she went in for what she thought for the killing blow, Dick caught her, spinning her around and pinning her firmly against his chest with his escrima stick against her throat.

Alex took a step forward, desperation filling his eyes. “Ivy!” he cried. “Let her go! I love her!”

“Look at what you have done to him,” Dick hissed low in her ear. “You are going to pay for what you have done, not only to him, but to Gotham.”

“Let me go,” she ground out. “I’ve done nothing wrong!”

“And that’s why you’re going back to Arkham,” Dick growled, reaching up and pinching her neck.

Ivy went limp in his arms as Zatanna and Etrigen arrived, prepared to help. Dick laid her down on the ground before turning his attention to the scientist standing there in stunned disbelief. “Now, time to set things right again,” Nightwing said.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

**_Cairo, Egypt; June 23rd, 05:17 EET_ **

Talia woke with a start, her pulse racing and breathing labored. She quickly looked about her bedroom, her eyes frantically darting about the shadows of her room. Her gaze finally fell on the empty spot in her bed where she had been dreaming that he had been.

She ran her fingers lightly over the cool satin sheets, wishing that he was here with her now instead of with that Amazon. She drew her knees up to her chest, fighting back furious tears as she wrapped her arms around her drawn up legs in an attempt to ward off the tremble she felt beginning to awaken inside of her.

Why had he chosen Gotham over her? This Amazon instead of a life by her side?

He could have had it all, the world kneeling at his feet if he had only chosen to follow her father. Instead, he had chosen that hell-hole of a city and now some Amazon whore to make him happy, to fill that deep, dark void that his parents’ death had left behind.

But she knew he would never find true happiness or peace in his life apart from her. Only she could give him what he what he truly needed, only she could bring him ultimate pleasure unlike anything that he’d ever known before. He needed her. Why couldn’t he see it?

Talia couldn’t stop the shudder that roiled through her as she thought about Bruce. He should be nearing the end soon. Pain and hallucinations were just the beginning of the end and his constant companion shortly. Would he even think of her in his last few hours, imagining that she was there with him, comforting him?

Her expression morphed from one of pure grief to sheer outrage as her thoughts turned to Princess Diana of the Amazons. She was probably hovering over him, staying by his side. That was, of course, if she was still able to stand. With any luck, the Amazon was dead by now.

The thought gave her a small flicker of joy, but it was swiftly swallowed up in the anguish that continued to flood her knowing her beloved was going to die if they didn’t get a cure soon. When he died, he would take her heart and soul with him.

Straightening up, Talia wiped the tears from her face before throwing the covers off her and getting out of bed. Grabbing her robe, she threw it on before leaving her room. She needed to walk for a little bit, to get some air and ease some of the tension that was teeming inside of her.

She wrapped her arms around herself to keep the chill at bay before realizing it was running up her spine, her body still fighting the affects of her dream about Bruce. It had seemed so very real…Bruce had been so real.

She swore she could still feel the brush of his fingers against the curve of her face, the burn of his lust-filled gaze against her skin, the hunger that fueled his kisses. She swallowed back a strangled sob, the images from her dream too real and yet not nearly real enough.

Her beloved was not here with her where he belonged and it was tearing her up inside. He was going to die and she would never see him again. Everything inside of her cried out to save him, to send the antidote to him, but she knew in her heart that she could not betray her father.

She would just have to trust that her beloved would somehow find a way to survive this, to somehow find his way back to her again. She knew with every beat of her heart that they were soul-mates to the very end and would always find their way back to each other no matter what occurred.

This time would be no different.

Straightening her shoulders, Talia held her head up high. She would have faith in her beloved. He had always managed to find a way to survive everything that had been thrown at him and this time would be no different. Once she knew that he was well, she would do everything in her power to make him hers again and if that damn Amazon got in her way, then she would just have to take her out personally.

The ancient stone floor was cool beneath her bare feet as she silently slipped through their compound like the shadows that surrounded her. She had to admit that she was more than a little anxious to be away from this place, to return to the palatial home that she was more accustomed to than this dreary underground hide-out her father had taken as his own.

Turning a corner, she made her way towards the command center that her father had set up. She was restless and in need of something to help her focus on something other than her beloved and that wench that was no doubt with him. She also wanted to find out how the mission was progressing.

Her father had been more than livid when he had learned that the devices in Metropolis had been intercepted by the Justice League. That could only mean that her beloved had somehow managed to break through the layers of encryption that had been placed on that USB drive they found.

The corners of her lips curled slightly with the pride she felt. Bruce had always proven to have a genius mind and now was obviously no different. He still never ceased to amaze her even now after all this time that she had known him.

Entering the central command room, Talia found Ubu and her father standing before a large bank of computer monitors. They were talking in hushed voices with their heads close together, but she could tell from their grave expressions that whatever was going on was definitely not good.

She silently approached, hoping to pick up on what was going on. It was not unlike her father to keep certain things from her “for her own good” as he so eloquently put it. It rarely felt that way to her. She knew it wouldn’t be long before her father picked up on her presence if he hadn’t already. He was as skilled as her beloved in many ways.

“Talia.” His deep voice rumbled like thunder in the room, causing her to momentarily pause in her step. “What are you doing up already?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” she sheepishly responded as she drew closer, her gaze going to the numerous computer screens. “What is going on, father?”

“Change of plans,” Ra’s informed her without turning around to face her. “The detective has obviously been able to crack the encryption on that drive so we need to move forward towards our end goal sooner rather than later.”

“In what way are you changing things?”

Ra’s finally turned towards her, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. His expression was calm and patient, but his dark eyes were a brewing thunderstorm waiting to be unleashed. “Nothing that you need to worry yourself with, my dear.”

“Please, father,” she softly pleaded. “I need to know what is coming next.”

“Very well,” Ra’s reluctantly replied with a sigh. “We are planning to strike five cities all over the world at the same time. The League won’t see it coming in time to do anything about it.”

“When?”

“In two days,” he informed her with a dark smile.

Talia shivered despite herself as she stared into her father’s eyes. A new world was coming indeed. She just prayed that her beloved would be alive to be a part of it when it finally came to fruition. “Do you honestly think we’ll be able to be ready in time?”

“We’ll have to be,” Ra’s stated with steely resolve as he turned his back to her. “I will not wait any longer than necessary. I’ve waited long enough for this. My time has come at last and I will not be denied this time.”

**_Oa; June 23rd, 06:37 EST_ **

Shayera stood beside John and Arkkis, her arms folded against her chest. Her gaze was narrowed and fixed on the computer monitors as the two worked to track down Sinestro’s last known location. She was beginning to feel a little better now that they finally had a plan and a villain that needed a good beating, but the need to fight still simmered in her soul.

Once they had hunted him down, she was bound and determined to be the first one to get her hands on him and make him give them the antidote to this damn virus that he’s been spreading around the galaxy. She just hoped that John would stay out of her way long enough for her to make Sinestro wish that he had never been conceived.

“I last had a run-in with Sinestro over two Earth months ago,” Arkkis revealed, his voice grim. “He was causing trouble on Ranstad-7. He led me on a two day chase, but I ended up losing him soon after that. I haven’t seen or heard any reports of him since then, except for that drunk that I told you about.”

“That’s because he came to Earth sometime after that,” John revealed with a snort of anger. “He and the Legion of Doom have been wreaking havoc for the Justice League ever since then.”

“Not just with the Legion of Doom,” Shayera cut in. “He’s obviously been spreading his deadly virus everywhere he goes.”

“But it doesn’t appear that he is actually the one doing it,” John surmised, rubbing his chin. “It’s as if he’s handed it over to the highest bidder on each planet that he visits.”

“I swear when I get my hands on his scrawny neck—” Arkkis began, balling his hands into fists.

“You’re going to have to get in line behind me,” Shayera ground out, interrupting him.

Arkkis gave her a dubious look to which John said, “she means it, buddy. We’ll be lucky if there’s anything left of him to get our hands on once she’s done with him.”

Shayera just smirked at both men standing to her left, her hand falling to her mace hanging at her hip. She was more than determined to pound Sinestro from one end of the galaxy to the other, but only after he gave up the antidote to save their friends.

She couldn’t help wondering how Bruce and Diana were doing now. They’d checked in with the Watchtower yesterday, but she knew it wasn’t going to be long before things began escalating. She just hoped that their strong wills would help give Bruce and Diana what they needed to hang on long enough for them to return with the antidote.

“The databanks show that Sinestro was seen just two days ago,” John said as he typed again on the computer. “It looks like he was last spotted headed back to Earth again.”

“It also looks like there are reports coming in now of more virus attacks on two other planets,” Arkkis announced from his position at the other computer.

“Great,” Shayera huffed with a scowl. “Sinestro is headed back to Earth and more people are being infected.”

“Probably wants to check on his virus and see all the trouble that he’s caused,” John thoughtfully stated.

“Looks like we’re heading home,” Shayera guessed.

John turned towards her, his hand coming to rest on her arm. “We’re not going home empty-handed, though. We now know who is behind this virus. All we need to do is track Sinestro down and get him to give up the antidote.”

“You know that Sinestro isn’t going to just have the antidote in his back pocket waiting for you to show up and take from him,” Arkkis pointed out.

“Don’t worry,” Shayera stated, her green eyes flashing with dangerous fury. “Just track down Sinestro and I’ll take care of the rest.”

Standing on John’s other side, Arkkis leaned over to whisper in his friend’s ear. “Remind me to never cross her.”

“You have no idea,” John softly responded with a groan.

“You know I can hear both of you,” Shayera stated as she turned on her heel to exit the room without even a glance back at them to see if John was following her.

John turned to Arkkis, extending his hand. “Thanks for all your help,” he said. “I’ll let you know as soon as we get the antidote so you can get it to Ranstand-7 and the other planets.”

“I’d appreciate that very much, John,” Arkkis replied with a nod of his head. “I just wish I had followed up on that drunk’s report now. We could have been further ahead on this.”

“Hey, I don’t know if I would have taken much stock in it if I had been in your shoes, Arkkis,” he reassured him, clasping his shoulder firmly and squeezing it. “I better go or Shayera will find her way back home with or without me.”

Arkkis chuckled softly. “Safe travels, my friend.”

John rushed from the room to catch up with Shayera, noticing the familiar stride that told everyone to back off or suffer the consequences. Thankfully, it wasn’t directed at him this time. There was a very small part of him that actually felt a little sorry for Sinestro, but it was small and very brief. Sinestro deserved everything that was coming for him and then some. He wasn’t too sure that he was going to do much to try to restrain Shayera when she got her hands on him.

“Hey, Shay!” he called to her. “Wait up!”

Shayera paused, turning back to look at him with annoyance on her face. “We have to hurry if we’re going to find this antidote in time. Bruce and Diana don’t have all day.”

John couldn’t help the smirk that caused his lips to quirk in amusement. “You do realize I’m the one that got us here and I’m the one who is going to get us home, right? You’re kind of stuck here without me.”

Shay’s hands found her hips as she blinked at him, obviously having forgotten that crucial fact. She wasn’t going anywhere until he was actually ready to go. “Well then, get the lead out, Marine. Time is ticking!”

John saluted her, an impish smile on his face. “Yes, Ma’am,” he responded as they began to make their way down the corridor. “You have no idea how positively sexy you are when you’re in battle mode.”

Shay glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Well, you’re going to have to hold on that thought for later. We have important work to do.”

“Oh, I know,” he readily agreed with her. “Just making sure you knew there would definitely be a later once this is all over and I have you all alone to myself in my quarters”

“What if I beat you to it?” she asked.

“Then all the better for me,” he decided with a shrug of a shoulder.

“Well, we better find Sinestro then before it’s too late for Bruce and Diana,” Shayera told him. “I’d much rather spend some time alone with you then to…bury our friends.”

He couldn’t help but notice the subtle crack in her voice when she talked about their friends and their fate if they didn’t get to the bottom of this soon. “Shay, we’ll get Sinestro,” he reassured her. “I promise you that.”

“I know,” she admitted. “I just hope it’s in time.”

**_Watchtower Infirmary; June 23rd, 06:56 EST_ **

“Poison Ivy is finally back in Arkham where she belongs.”

Bruce’s shoulders sagged in relief as he sat on the edge of his bed. He was leaning forward with his breathing mask in one hand, his other hand holding his head. “Did you find...any more spores or devices?” he rasped as he removed his mask to speak, his voice weak and his breathing labored.

“We found ten more devices that were ready and waiting to be planted all over Gotham,” Dick informed him. “She had quite the setup going at the abandoned chemical plant. You should have seen it. There were plants and vines everywhere. It was like a jungle had just erupted right in the heart of the chemical plant.”

“How many devices are still out there…that we don’t know about?” Bruce asked, his wheezing breaths growing more exerted the more he tried to talk.

“Bruce, you sound like hell,” Dick told him. “We can talk about all of this later.”

“No, I need to know…now,” he insisted. “I need to know that Gotham is safe again.”

“Once we gave Alex Reed the antidote to Ivy’s pheromone toxin, he started spilling everything,” Dick continued despite his concerns. He knew Bruce wouldn’t give up until he knew everything there was to learn about it so there was no use arguing with him. “Poor guy. He was really shaken up when he found out everything that he had done with Ivy. He said he had been preparing to go out to set up the next device just before we had arrived.”

“How about the patients in Gotham General?”

“Alex is already helping the doctors come up with an antidote for the spore toxin he helped create with Ivy.”

Bruce released an audible sigh despite his breathing difficulties, raking his fingers back through his hair. “Good work,” he replied, more than relieved that at least one nightmare had been resolved.

“Wow,” Dick said. “Now I know that you’re sick. You just gave me a compliment.”

“Funny,” Bruce snapped, unamused. “Just make sure that the—”

“The chemical plant has been thoroughly checked and the investigation is complete,” Dick interrupted, finishing for his mentor-father. “Yah, I know the drill. Etrigen and Zee helped me do all of that. Already typing in my notes and updating the files as we speak.”

“Thank you,” Bruce murmured.

There was a long pause before Dick responded, his prior sarcastic tone missing. In its place was a heavy sense of sober fear. “Now I know that you’re dying.”

“I’m not going to die,” Bruce insisted, his gaze flickering to Diana lying unconscious in the next bed.

She was lying on her left side, facing him, murmuring something in her feverish state, but the breathing mask that covered her mouth and nose made it difficult to know exactly what she was saying. She was most likely hallucinating again, making his panic rise once more. 

Earlier, she had sworn that Aphrodite had come to visit her. It had been Phillipus wanting to train with swords prior to that. He shuddered to think what kind of hallucinations were going to be greeting him when he finally ended up in her condition. 

By the time he was having hallucinations, Diana would likely be gone. The thought made him ill to his core. The things that Clark had said to him yesterday continued to roll relentlessly through his mind, refusing to be so easily forgotten or dismissed. 

Could he really let her die without knowing that he truly loved her? That he wanted her more than anything else in this life?

“Bruce,” Dick called to him again. “Earth to Bruce. Are you still there?”

“Yah…I’m here,” he mumbled, forcing himself to look away from her.

“I asked how Diana was doing,” Dick repeated.

“Not good,” he confessed, momentarily bringing his breathing mask back up to his face and hungrily inhaling the oxygen in order to help ease the burning in his lungs. “She’s in and out of consciousness and having hallucinations. I don’t know…how much longer she’s going to last.”

“I’m sorry, Bruce,” Dick replied. “I wish there was something I could do to help. I had really hoped that Ivy was behind what had happened to you guys.”

“Me too,” Bruce admitted, his attention returning to the one who consumed his thoughts, his dreams. “If we don’t find a cure soon—”

“Don’t go there, Bruce,” Dick bit out, his frustration and fear more than obvious. “You and Diana are going to make it out of this. You’ll be back to your usual brooding, annoying self before you know it.”

Bruce snorted in mild amusement. “I was just going to say I don’t know how much longer…I’ll be able to stay coherent. I want you to take care of Tim and Alfred for me.”

“Bruce, don’t do this.”

“I updated my will again a few weeks ago…so everything is already current and in order.”

“Bruce, stop it!”

“Gotham and Wayne Enterprises will go to you and Tim along with Wayne Manor,” he continued as if not hearing him. “There are some personal videos…I recorded for each of you. They will become available…after I’m gone.”

“Bruce! I don’t want to hear any of this!” Dick yelled, growing frantic to make him stop. 

“There’s a video I recorded for Diana as well,” he told him, watching her as she struggled for every single breath, the way that her raven hair was such a stark contrast to her pallid face. Her cheeks were sunken, dark circles beneath her eyes. She wasn’t going to last much longer. “Destroy it for me.”

“What? Why?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. There’s no longer a need for it.”

Prolonged silence followed his last request causing the corner of Bruce’s mouth to tick up in amusement. “What? No argument this time?”

“Just tell her, Bruce,” Dick softly encouraged him, defeat lacing his voice.

The faint smile on Bruce’s lips fell away, replaced by profound heartache that caused his throat to narrow painfully. “I…I’m afraid it’s too late.”

“It’s not too late until she’s actually gone,” Dick countered, his voice hard. “She’s still there, Bruce…with you. She may be fading in and out of consciousness, but she deserves to know how you feel about her. Isn’t a day of being in love much better than never knowing love with her at all?”

Bruce swallowed hard, the words sounding all too familiar and creating the exact same sharp stab of pain in his chest. “I don’t know if…”

His voice abruptly trailed off, unable to continue. He didn’t have an argument left anymore, didn’t even want to fight it. The reasons for pushing her away, leaving the League, isolating himself in Gotham were all slipping through his fingers along with her life. In that moment, he somehow knew he had been wrong to keep pushing her away, his eyes opening and his defenses crumbling with standing on the precipice of losing her forever.

“Look, Bruce,” Dick pressed on, “I know how hard all of this is for you, letting someone into your life, but you will not find anyone better or more accepting of the life you lead than Diana. No one.”

“I know,” he whispered, his eyes burning with unwanted tears.

“Neither of us got the chance to tell our parents that we loved them before we lost them,” Dick pressed, knowing he was treading on very dangerous ground by bringing up Bruce’s parents, but also knowing that he had to in order to get through to him. “Don’t let Diana become another casualty on your long list of regrets.”

Bruce angrily clenched and unclenched his jaw with the reminder of his parents, how he had lost them so violently and unexpectedly. The pain that rose up in his chest was crushing, but he knew that Dick was right. He’d never had the chance to tell them how much he loved them before they were taken from him in a blink of an eye. He couldn’t let Diana die without her knowing how he loved her.

“By the way, I don’t want your company or your home, so you better find a way to keep from dying,” Dick told him, trying to ease the tension that he had just created. “You belong here…with Diana…so go talk to her now. I’ll talk to you later.”

Before Bruce could respond, the commlink sounded off, telling him that Dick had just gotten the last word in. Setting his breathing mask down, he rose to his feet, standing there for a moment to let the wave of dizziness pass before slowly making his way to Diana’s bed.

Bruce knew that he was right, but Dick had no idea how difficult it was for him to actually open his heart up, especially to _her_. His Diana. It had been walled off for so long that he didn’t know how to let his defenses down or how to even begin to open up to her. He was afraid her light would banish his darkness, the fury that fed the Bat and yet he knew he couldn’t live without her. He had to take the chance no matter what the consequences might be.

Sitting down on the side of her bed, he reached out to gently rest his hand on her the side of her head. Seeing her like this was crushing him, knowing he was losing her and there wasn’t a damn thing that he could do about it. Not this time. This would be the one time that he couldn’t save her.

“Bruce,” she murmured, barely opening her eyes but knowing he was there with her. “I…I have to…”

Her voice trailed off as unconsciousness threatened to drag her away from him again. Despite the thick fog that encompassed her, she found his free hand, grabbing onto it for fear that he’d leave, another illusion vanishing from her sight.

“I’m right here, Princess,” he reassured her as he held her hand in his, his other hand stroking her hair. “Don’t try to talk right now.”

She squeezed her eyes tightly against the pain that radiated through her entire body, every breath she drew driving nails into her head. She wanted to open her eyes…to see him, but her eyelids were too heavy to lift, her head hurting too much.

Frustrated tears welled behind her eyelids, seeking release as she tightened her hold on his hand. It wasn’t supposed to end for them like this. She needed more time, time with him. He needed to know how much she loved him. She somehow found the strength to pull off her breathing mask, more than determined to finally tell him what was in her heart. 

“Diana, you need to keep the mask on,” Bruce gently told her, trying to put it back on for her. “You can’t be without it.”

She pushed his hand away. “No,” she mumbled. “I need you…I have to tell you…”

“You can tell me later…when you’re better,” he said with a frown. “I need to talk to you, Diana.”

Bruce continued to run his fingers through her silky hair in an effort to soothe her while struggling to find the right words, the things that he had kept hidden so deep in his heart. “I know I should have…told you long before now, but I…I can’t fight what I feel for you any longer. Diana…I love you. I have been so in love with you for a long time now.”

He watched as a tear silently slipped down her cheek, breaking his heart. He hoped that she was able to understand him, still aware enough to know what he was telling her. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to her cheek, his kiss erasing her tear. He leaned his forehead against her temple as he held her hand.

“I love you, Princess,” he softly confessed against her face, his lips brushing against her cheek as he spoke to her. “You mean absolutely everything…in this world to me. Losing you…is like losing my own life.”

Diana turned her head, forcing her eyes open in order to look up at him, sharing the same breath with him. “I love you,” she whispered so faintly he almost didn’t hear her.

Bruce’s lips curled with her confession, hoping her words were truly meant for him and not some hallucination that she was seeing. He’d never realized just how desperate he had been to hear those words from her until she had actually said them to him. He pressed his lips to her forehead, wishing that he could truly kiss her the way that he wanted to, the way that he needed to at that moment.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” he apologized, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. “It took something like this for me to fully understand…that I can’t lose you and still survive. I need you, Princess. Please don’t leave me. You have to hang on.”

She lifted her hand up to his face, her fingers lightly tracing the curve of his cheek, running along the rough stubble that lined his jaw before running the tip of her finger over his bottom lip as she stared intently at him. “I…love you…Bruce,” she managed to say.

“Diana,” he softly gasped her name, melting into the feel of her hand coming to rest against his cheek. The intimacy of her caress on his face reached right into his soul and touched a part of him that only she could ever reach. “My beautiful Princess.”

“My Dark Knight,” she weakly murmured, the corners of her lips curving.

Her eyes were clouded with fever and sickness and yet the love for him that beat in her heart was undeniable as she stared at him with those ocean blue orbs. He closed the distance between them without a second thought, his heart pounding as he softly brushed his lips against hers. His fingers slid into her hair, holding her as he slowly kissed her.

Breaking the kiss, he pressed his forehead against her cheek, her fingers finding the hair at the nape of his neck. “Don’t…leave…please,” she pleaded with him. “Stay with me.”

“Always,” he promised her, brushing her hair away from her forehead, his hand moving to cup her cheek. “I’m not going anywhere…not without you.”

She smiled softly, staring up at him with half-opened eyes that no longer recognized him. “Please…tell Bruce…I love him,” she whispered. “He has to know...I…I need him to know.”

“He knows, Princess,” he reassured her, a tear unexpectedly breaking free to slowly slide down his face as he pressed his lips to her cheek. “He knows…and he loves you just as much.”

“He is…zoi mou,” she murmured in Greek, unable to keep her eyes open any longer.

“You’re…my life too…Diana,” he replied, his voice cracking with raw emotion. “Please…just rest now. I’ll be right here with you…when you wake up.”

Watching her, he waited for some sort of a response, but received none. Her breathing became weak and erratic as her head rolled to the side. Monitor alarms began blaring, warning them that something was deadly wrong. “Diana…Diana!” he cried her name. “J’onn!”

Replacing her breathing mask, Bruce gripped her face with his hands, panic causing bile to rise in the back of his throat. “Diana, open your eyes…please. Open your eyes. Don’t do this to me,” he begged her, his own breathing growing ragged again as tears blurred his vision. “Look at me, Princess!”

J’onn was there at his side within seconds, his gloved hand wrapping firmly around Bruce’s upper arm. “Bruce, let me see her.”

Bruce reluctantly released his hold on her, pulling away. He stumbled back as J’onn set to work on Diana. He quickly lowered the head of her bed, turning up the oxygen on her breathing mask. “Her body is shutting down,” J’onn told him, his usual stoic voice tense with fear. “I need to try to stabilize her.”

Bruce felt as though his whole world was crashing down around him as J’onn injected medicines into her IV. He glanced at one of the monitors to find that her heart rate was far too low, oxygen levels plummeting. He was losing her.

“Come on, Diana,” Bruce continuously murmured to himself over and over again as he watched J’onn work frantically to stabilize her once more. “Don’t leave me now…not now when I finally have you.”


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

_**Watchtower Infirmary; June 23rd, 16:48 EST** _

Dick sat in a chair beside Bruce’s bed, his heart heavy and his mind racing with fear…a kind of fear that he hadn’t felt quite to this degree in a very long time. Wearing a hazmat suit, he was forced to look at his surrogate father through the clear plastic plate of his mask, touch his hand with gloved fingers.

He’d never seen Bruce look this terrible before. He’d lost some weight, dark shadows forming beneath his eyes. He was ghostly pale that hinted at his fate if they didn’t intervene soon, a red rash dotting his arms and face. It left him feeling helpless seeing him like this, knowing that he was on the verge of losing him.

J’onn had contacted him to let him know that Bruce was worsening. Alfred had told him to go to the Watchtower to see him, wanting him to have a chance to spend some time alone with him. Now that he was here, he found himself wishing that he wasn’t. Alfred should be the one here with Bruce, not him.

Alfred was the father that Bruce had lost, the one who had single-handedly raised him. He had been there with Bruce through it all, the dangers and fears that came with Bruce being Batman, worrying if he would return home in one piece and patching him back together when he didn’t.

Dick just didn’t know how much longer he could handle being up here. This had turned out to be far harder than he had imagined it would be. He had just spoken to Bruce this morning, telling him about Poison Ivy and encouraging him to talk to Diana about his feelings before it was too late…and now too late was coming fast and furious.

He glanced over at Diana lying so very still in the next bed, his throat tightening with what he was hearing and seeing. The sound of the ventilator breathing air into her lungs filled his ears, the beeping of the monitors telling him that she was still alive, but just barely.

Instead of the strong-willed, smiling Amazon he had seen before, he now saw a frail looking woman on life support. J’onn had told him that Diana had nearly died this morning, but he had managed to bring her back. It was soon after that that Bruce had dramatically worsened, the virus ravaging his body and especially his lungs, finally confining him to his bed.

J’onn had informed him that he’d practically had to drag Bruce away from Diana’s bedside and back into his own bed so he could treat him. His lungs had filled with fluid, nearly suffocating and drowning him. Thankfully, the meds seemed to have stabilized him somewhat, but he feared it wasn’t going to be enough.

That had been over three hours ago. Now, he was unresponsive…dying. Bruce had no idea that he was even here with him. Dick smiled to himself, imagining Bruce’s reaction if he did know that he was here. He’d want a full, detailed report on Gotham, Poison Ivy’s stay in Arkham, Tim’s condition, and if they’d been able to track down Ra’s yet. He’d want to know about his still-open cases, any new crimes that have cropped up while he had been quarantined.

Bruce was always so worried about everyone and everything else, but never himself. He always put himself last and everyone else first…his own comfort, his own health, even his own sanity never a priority until he was forced to make it one when he was precariously teetering on that precipice that would finally drag him away forever.

He had taught him so much over the years, more than Dick could even begin to recount. They’d always had their differences, both stubborn and believing that they knew what was best, but when it came down to it, Dick loved him. Tim and Barbara, Alfred and Bruce…they were the only family that he had left now.

The lump in his throat expanded as he stared at the man lying before him. He reached out to adjust his pillows for him, pulling the covers up a little further around him. It was probably pointless, but it made him feel a little better like he was actually doing something for him instead of just sitting here worrying that Bruce might die in the next moment.

If that happened, he’d never get the chance to tell Bruce how he had saved his life all those years ago, keeping him from turning down a dark path filled with nothing but bitter rage, death and destruction. He had saved not only his life, but his soul as well by taking him in.

Dick tried to swallow past the lump that stuck in his throat, but it refused to go away. He nearly jumped right out of his hazmat suit when he felt an unexpected hand on his shoulder. Turning, he found Clark standing next to him, his eyes focused on Bruce.

“I just heard,” Clark said, squeezing his shoulder. “Has he woken at all?”

“No,” Dick softly replied, afraid his emotions would break through like a violent flood if he said anymore.

Clark glanced over at Diana, watching the machine as it continually breathed life into her lungs. His friends were slipping away and there was absolutely nothing that he could do to stop it. They’d searched everywhere they could to find Ra’s al’Gul, but he was nowhere to be found.

They were in desperate need of a break, something that would help them save Bruce and Diana and put a stop to this once and for all. Looking back down at Dick, he knew that he was taking this just as hard as they were, probably even harder.

“How are things in Gotham?” Clark finally asked as he pulled up a chair to sit beside him, hoping to get Dick’s mind off this even if it was just for a few minutes.

“Poison Ivy is in Arkham,” Dick revealed, thankful for the change in subject. “We were able to stop her before she infected anymore people with her plant toxin.”

“I’m sure Bruce is proud of what you were able to do to save Gotham,” Clark reassured him.

“He was actually,” Dick admitted, a slight smile twisting the corners of his lips. “I think that was one of the few times that he actually said thank you and that I had done well.”

Clark could hear the sentiment in the young man’s voice, could see how his emotions were hanging by a thin thread that could snap at any second. “Dick, Bruce is strong,” he told him. “He always manages to pull through when you least expect it.”

Dick couldn’t help but snort in agreement, followed by a shake of his head. “I know,” he replied, but there was little conviction in his response. “It just all seems so surreal. I had always imagined that it would be the Joker who finally took Bruce down, not some stupid virus that no one can find a cure for. This is just so senseless…so—”

“I know, Dick,” Clark grimly agreed. 

It was bizarre to see Bruce like this. He was just larger than life, always there and in charge. Even when he never said a word, his presence alone was so forbidding and yet a strange sort of comfort. He always knew what to do no matter the situation and, if for some odd reason he didn’t, he always found a way to save the day.

Now, he and Diana needed them to save the day and none of them knew how this time. And the one person Clark would’ve turned to for help right now was the one person that needed him the most.

Glancing at Diana, Clark found his hope waning. He had never seen her like this either. It was devastating to see his two best friends wasting away to nothing and not being able to do a damn thing about it.

“Have there been any more attacks by Ra’s?” Dick asked.

“Just stopped another one a couple of hours ago,” Clark informed him. “Red Tornado, Vixen, Flash, and I just barely got to it in time. This one was in Kasnia. It had already started emitting the virus when we arrived, but we were able to contain it. 

“The problem is the public has figured out that something big is going on and the government is asking questions. There’s a growing sense of restlessness and panic, rumors are flying like crazy. The League is going to have to issue a statement.”

“There are more devices out there somewhere and, when people find out what it is, there’s going to be mass hysteria all over the world,” Dick commented. “We just have to find them all before it’s too late.”

“Was Bruce able to break through the third layer of encryption on the USB drive?” Clark asked him.

“Not yet, but I’ve sent all of the information that Bruce has been able to discover on the USB drive to Oracle to see what she can do with it,” Dick replied. “I’m hoping she’ll be able to find some sort of clue that will lead us to Ra’s.”

“You call me the moment you know anything,” Superman told him. “We will go after Ra’s together. We’ll take the whole League with us if necessary in order to stop him.”

Dick gritted his teeth, anger coursing through his veins. “I get to be the one who takes down Ra’s.”

Clark stood to his feet, moving to stand by Bruce’s bed for a long moment before moving to Diana’s bed. He gently touched her forehead as if saying goodbye for the final time before turning his attention to Nightwing. “I have to attend an emergency meeting with the government to let them know what’s going on,” he said. “Call me if there are any changes.”

“Good luck,” Dick replied.

Finding himself all alone once more, Dick leaned forward, his hand coming to rest on top of his father’s. “Bruce, please hang on,” he urged him. “You have to fight this. We can’t lose you—I can’t lose you.”

Several moments went by before Bruce’s eyes opened slightly, taking Dick by surprise. He was staring straight ahead as if knowing where he was and yet not fully aware. He winced as if in pain, groaning as he fought against the firm tug of unconsciousness. 

Dick leaned forward, tightening his hold on his father’s hand, relief like a spring rain washing over him. “Bruce, it’s all right,” Dick reassured him. “You’re in isolation on the Watchtower.”

Bruce didn’t appear to hear him, lifting his left arm as if reaching out towards something. “Mom? Dad?” he murmured, his voice muffled by his breathing mask.

Dick turned to look at the foot of the bed, finding no one standing there. Bruce had told him that Diana had been having hallucinations and now it seemed as though Bruce was having them as well. He didn’t know if it was a good or bad that Bruce thought he was seeing his parents. It could either comfort him or end up pushing him right over the edge into the waiting arms of the dark chasm that had always threatened to drag him away from them.

“You’re both…here,” Bruce choked out, his breathing labored. “I’ve missed you…so very much.”

Dick didn’t know what to do, wasn’t sure whether he should try to talk Bruce out of the hallucination or let him work his way through it. He watched as tears filled his surrogate father’s eyes, his arm falling limply onto his bed. It was more than painful seeing him like this, so broken and lost in an illusion that sprang from a senseless moment in time that never should have happened.

Tears slowly slid down Bruce’s face, his expression filled with pure anguish. “There’s so much I want to tell you. I have two adopted sons…Dick and Tim. I’ve tried to be a father to them, but I know…I’ve failed them in so many ways. I wish I could make it up to them. They mean so much to me. I would’ve been so lost without them.”

Tears filled Dick’s eyes, Bruce’s confession touching his heart. He could hardly take another moment of this as he stood to his feet, desperate to break him free from the fantasy. “Bruce, this isn’t real. You’re parents aren’t here.”

Bruce continued as if not even hearing him, his fingers curling into his covers as if holding on for dear life. “And Diana…Diana is…so very beautiful,” he told them, his tone full of longing and love. “She means…the whole world to me.”

Dick began to pace back and forth, circling to the foot of the bed in an effort to get Bruce to see him, to realize that his parents weren’t there. “Bruce, look at me. It’s Dick. Your mom and dad aren’t here. They’re dead.”

“I…I finally told her that I love her and…and she actually loves me too,” he told them, a rare smile lighting his face. “I know…I don’t understand how or why…but it’s true. I know you’ll love her too…when you get to see her. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”

Dick was so relieved to hear that Bruce had finally told Diana how he felt, but it was tearing him apart seeing his father like this. He moved to the side of the bed again, leaning over him and trying to get his attention. “Your parents aren’t here! They’re gone, Bruce! They died thirty years go!”

“I’ve missed you both so much…I’ve felt so lost without you,” he murmured as he finally turned to stare at Dick. “Please…don’t leave me again. Please…I’m begging you. Please stay with me.”

Tears burned in Dick’s eyes as Bruce tried to grab onto the front of his hazmat suit in an effort to keep his parents here with him. Tears continued to roll down Bruce’s cheeks, slipping past his breathing mask as he weakly clutched at Dick. 

“Please…don’t take them away from me again,” Bruce pleaded with him, his panic more than palpable. “I can’t lose them…I can’t lose Diana. She loves me…and I love her. I need her here with me.”

“Bruce! Listen to me!” Dick yelled at him, grabbing him roughly by the shoulders. “Your parents aren’t here. You’re in isolation on the Watchtower. You need to calm down now.”

Bruce stared at him for a long moment, his eyes hazy with fever as he struggled to understand. “Dick?” he whispered, recognition slowly washing away a measure of the confusion that had clouded his mind. He tried to sit up, attempting to get out of bed as his panic continued to climb. “Where…am I? Where’s Diana? I have to get to her.”

“Diana is right here,” Dick reassured him, forcing him back in bed and pulling the covers over him. “You need to stay here, Bruce. You’re sick with a virus. You’re having hallucinations.”

Pulling his breathing mask off, Bruce rubbed his face with his hands, stunned to find his face wet with tears. “I…I saw…them…”

His voice broke off, unable to finish his sentence. It had been so very real, his parents right here with him. He had seen them, could have sworn that he had felt the familiar touch of his mother’s hand against his face, heard the deep baritone of his father’s voice. They had looked the exact same way as they had on the day they had died, before they had been gunned down in that alley.

He pressed his head back into his pillows, squeezing his eyes closed against the sharp stab of pain that pierced his chest with the realization that it was all just a hallucination. His parents hadn’t been here with him at all, but Diana still was.

“How’s Diana?” he rasped, turning his head to the right in an attempt to get a glimpse of her through his bedrail.

“She’s on life support,” Dick informed him as he sat down on the edge of Bruce’s bed.

Hurt filled Bruce’s eyes as he stared at her, watching as the ventilator kept her alive. He was heartbroken that he couldn’t save her as he forced himself to look away from her. He couldn’t cope with seeing her like this and yet he was so desperate to hold her just one more time, to lose himself in her beautiful blue eyes, but that wasn’t going to happen. They needed a miracle now.

“How’s Tim?” Bruce asked, closing his eyes against the hammering pain that had settled behind his eyes.

“He’s better,” Dick replied. “He’s already been trying to go out on patrol with me, but I won’t let him.”

A faint smile touched his lips. “Not until…Leslie clears him.”

“That’s what I told him,” Dick said, moving to sit in his chair again. “You know Tim, though. Nothing keeps him down.”

A long, heavy silence settled between father and son, both knowing they were nearing the end. Barring a miracle, this could be the last time that they would share together. Dick leaned forward, his elbows coming to rest on his knees as he struggled to find the words to say to the man who had been his mentor and father, his greatest frustration and his strongest supporter.

“Bruce—” Dick began.

The flood of emotion roiling through him caused his throat to constrict, stealing his thoughts and his words as well as his breath. He lowered his head, fighting back tears that burned behind his eyes. This couldn’t be the end, it just couldn’t.

“You don’t have to…say anything,” Bruce rasped, finding his breathing mask and putting it back on. “Go…take care of Gotham.”

Dick slowly nodded his head as he stood to his feet. “I’ll be back later to check on you.”

Bruce gazed up at him, his expression stoic, but his eyes held a gentleness that Dick had rarely seen in him before. It made it that much harder to leave, to walk away without saying what he needed to say to him now.

“It’ll be all right, Dick,” Bruce muttered, his eyes falling closed.

Dick knew it wasn’t going to be, but left the words unspoken, hanging thick in the air. He turned his attention towards Diana, wondering if this would be the last time that he saw her as well. He could hardly believe that this could be the end of Batman and Wonder Woman. They had finally confessed their love for one another only to have it ripped away from them. It was all so wrong.

Dick’s hands curled into tight fists, his determination like steel. He would track down Ra’s no matter what it took, find the cure and put an end to this once and for all.

**_Earth; June 23rd, 21:34 EST_ **

“Thanks, Steel. We’ll take care of it,” John replied, ending his communication with the Watchtower.

“Well, what did he have to say?” Shayera impatiently demanded to know, more than anxious for an answer.

“The Legion of Doom was just spotted at Fort Knox trying to rob the United States Bullion Depository,” he informed her as they quickly headed towards Kentucky.

“Was Sinestro seen with them?” she asked, already reaching for her mace.

“Don’t know yet,” John said with a shake of his head. “Steel just said that at least five members of the Legion were trying to break into Fort Knox. He’s sending Supergirl, Black Canary and Green Arrow to back us up.”

“He had better be there with them,” Shayera ground out.

“And if he’s not?”

“I’ll beat one of his friends into telling me where he’s at,” she readily decided, taking comfort in that thought.

John smirked at her, equally anxious to find Sinestro and get the information they needed in time. “Just be sure to leave the rest of us something to do.”

“There will be plenty to do,” she reassured him.

Within minutes, Fort Knox came into view as their fellow teammates were beginning to do battle. “You’re just in time,” Green Arrow yelled as he immediately reached for an arrow to take down Atomic Skull.

Star Sapphire shot an energy beam straight at Green Lantern who quickly threw up a shield, blocking her attack. “Nice to see you again, handsome,” she taunted him. “I see you brought your winged demon of a girlfriend with you. How about you come and play with me instead?”

Shayera growled low in her throat, flying straight at her with enough fury to take down all five villains alone. “How about I introduce you to my mace instead, honey?”

Star ducked and rolled in the air, narrowly missing a mace to the face. Shayera pursued her, a cat and dog fight ensuing while Green Lantern took off after Bizzaro. He wasn’t too thrilled about taking on the Superman clone, but he was best equipped to handle him seeing how the original Man of Steel wasn’t here.

Supergirl was too busy trying to take down Rampage at that moment, exchanging punches that would have rattled the teeth right out of a normal human being. Black Canary was trading kicks and swings with Cheetah, barely missing claws tearing her cheek wide open. With a sneer on her lips, Canary lifted her leg, her boot connecting with Cheetah’s chest and sending her flying backwards.

A large, green boxing glove appeared, slamming hard into Bizarro and knocking him back several feet. Dazed, the clone shook his head in an effort to clear the cobwebs. “You not nice to Bizarro,” he growled as he raced towards Lantern, his fist connecting with John’s jaw.

Green Lantern soared back through the air, connecting with Star Sapphire and knocking her clear of Shayera. They tumbled backwards, Star trying to untangle herself from the Green Lantern. “Get off me, fool!” she hollered, shoving John away.

John immediately formed a protective bubble around himself, blocking another volley of attacks from Star Sapphire. “One second they want you…the next, they hate you,” he grumbled as he quickly shot a blast at her, turning around just in time to avoid being beaten with a very large tree limb wielded by Bizzaro.

“You hurt my friend!” Bizarro yelled. “Bizzaro make you hurt now!”

“Whoa!” John cried, throwing up a green bar and blocking the tree limb that Bizarro was trying to crush his windpipe with.

Canary’s ear-piercing cry filled the air, taking Cheetah to her knees as she slapped her hands over her ears. An arrow unexpectedly landed in front of her, exploding with knock-out gas and taking the feline villain out. 

Canary turned, flashing her lover a smile. “Thanks,” she said. “I owe you.”

“I can think of many ways you can pay me back, pretty bird,” Arrow flirted with her, turning back to the task at hand.

Atomic Skull was already gearing up for another radiation blast when Supergirl flew in from nowhere, her fist connecting with Atomic Skull’s chest as she pounded him straight into the side of Fort Knox. He slid down to the ground in a heap, groaning softly as he struggled to catch the breath she’d just knocked out of him.

Rampage picked herself up off the ground at that moment, turning her attention to Green Arrow. As she reached for him, an unexpected mace to the side of her head quickly deterred her, sending the metahuman straight into a tree that split in two upon impact. The tree crashed down on her, finishing her off…at least for the moment.

“Thanks, Shay,” Arrow told her with an appreciative nod of his head. “You saved me a huge headache.”

“Any idea where Sinestro is?” she asked, landing on the ground beside him as John finished off Bizzaro, using his green boxing glove to repeatedly slam the clone into the ground.

“I haven’t seen him yet, but that doesn’t mean he ain’t here,” Arrow told her, nocking an arrow and aiming straight at Star Sapphire who was trying to take out Canary.

The arrow exploded in the air, knocking Star out of the sky and causing her to land with a hard thud on the ground. Shay immediately made her way to her, gripping the front of her costume and hauling her up onto her feet. “Where’s Sinestro?” she demanded to know.

Star laughed between coughs, trying to connect her thoughts after being slammed into the ground. “You really think…I’m going to tell you?” she coughed out the words, a smirk on her lips.

“You better tell me or my mace will help you,” Shay warned her, holding up her weapon and bringing it within an inch of her face. “Start talking.”

“I’d do what she says if I were you,” Arrow told her, folding his arms against his chest. “You really don’t want to mess with her when she’s mad.”

Star Sapphire weighed her options, taking a moment too long as Shay began to pull her arm back, making the decision for her. “All right, all right!” she cried, holding up her hands in front of her face. “He’s in there.”

Both Arrow and Shay looked to where Star was pointing, noticing the rather large hole in the door that led into Fort Knox. “Great,” Arrow muttered. “More of them.”

“Supergirl…Canary,” Shayera turned towards the others. “Take care of them and free the guards. We’re going in after the others.”

“Got it,” Kara replied.

John flew in through the hole after Shayera and Arrow, hoping to keep Shayera from beating Sinestro to a pulp. They needed him conscious so they could get their hands on the antidote. They couldn’t afford to wait for him to come out of a coma or for his jaw to heal enough so that he could talk again.

They worked their way deeper inside of Fort Knox, finding guards lying unconscious here and there. They couldn’t take the time to check on them for long. They needed to get to Sinestro and whoever else was with him before they caused any more trouble.

“Shay,” John softly said to her from behind. “Don’t break Sinestro too much. Remember that we need him one piece.”

“I know,” she snapped. “I’m not going to break every bone in his body…just most of them.”

“Um, someone want to let me in on what’s going on here with Sinestro?” Green Arrow tentatively ventured, sensing the undercurrent of tense urgency between his fellow Leaguers.

“Sinestro is the one who started this whole alien contagion thing in the first place,” John informed him. “He got his hands on it on Ranstad-7 and brought it to earth.”

“He sold it to the highest bidder,” Shayera added. “He’s trying to spread it to every planet in the galaxy in an effort to discredit the Green Lantern Corps. He’s trying to make them look like they can’t protect their sectors.”

Green Arrow released a long, low whistle with the revelation. “Wow,” he muttered. “Didn’t see that coming.”

“I know, but it’s here and Batman and Diana are running out of time,” John evenly stated. “There have already been deaths on Ranstad-7 from this contagion.”

“How long did they last?”

“Seven to eight days is the average,” John grimly replied.

“And we’re going on seven as of tomorrow,” Ollie said, sighing heavily. “This is not good.”

“That’s why we need to get to Sinestro now,” Shayera ground out, her fingers clenched so tightly around the handle of her mace that her knuckles were turning white.

“And how are you planning on making Sinestro talk?” Ollie asked, eyes narrowed as he looked at Shayera. “He’s not going to just hand it over with a smile and a handshake.”

Shayera lifted her mace, tapping it in the palm of her other hand. “I’ll take care of that.”

An icy chill shuddered through the Green Arrow as he slowly nodded his head in understanding. “Gotcha,” he murmured with a frown. “All right then…let’s do this.”

Hearing noise up ahead, they silently drew closer, recognizing the all-too familiar voices. “Just get it open now!” Copperhead yelled. “We need to get the gold and get out of here before the League shows up.”

“The others will occupy the League while we get what we need,” KGBeast reassured him. “Just let me work.”

“I don’t like this,” Copperhead groused. “You’re taking too long.”

KGBeast growled, his anger simmering beneath the surface. “If you don’t like it, then leave,” he snapped. “I don’t know why we brought you along in the first place. You’re next to useless in here.”

“Why you—” Copperhead began only to be cut off.

“Enough!” Sinestro yelled. “Just get the gold and get out of here. I have other things that I need to take care of.”

“Got something else going on the side that the Legion doesn’t know about?” Copperhead demanded to know.

“It’s none of your business,” Sinestro stated.

“If you got something going on that Luthor don’t know about it, he ain’t gonna be happy,” Copperhead told him.

“Do you really think I care about Luthor?” Sinestro asked. “I don’t answer to him or anyone else. I am my own person and I can do what I please. Now, can we get on with this?”

“I still don’t like this,” Copperhead hissed. “The League will be here any minute.”

“Or they could be here right now,” Ollie quipped, arrow pointed straight at the snake man. “Hope we’re not too late to join the party.”

“Stop them while I get the gold!” Sinestro yelled, powering his ring as he turned back to the vault.

Copperhead raced towards Arrow, fangs exposed and tail snapping. “No one invited you,” he snapped.

“That never stopped me from crashing a party before,” Ollie shot back, ducking to avoid a lunging Copperhead.

Ollie shifted, spinning on his heel and driving the end of his bow into Copperhead’s back, causing him to land face first on the concrete floor. He quickly recovered, rolling onto his back and kicking his legs up at an advancing Green Arrow, throwing him backwards into a steel wall.

Shayera flew straight past the pair of brawlers, her attention solely on one villain at that point. With a fierce war cry, she drove herself straight at Sinestro, mace primed and ready for a beating. She gritted her teeth as Sinestro turned around at the last second to throw up a yellow shield, blocking her path.

She yelled in frustration, pounding against it with her mace. Sinestro laughed at her, the deep vibrating sound only fueling her fury. “You can’t get through my shield, bird woman,” Sinestro mocked her.

“Come out from behind there and fight me like a man, you coward!” she snarled at him.

“I can do this all day,” he taunted her; “the real question is—can you? You’re going to run out of energy long before I will.”

“Great,” John muttered under his breath as he circled KGBeast. “I’m stuck with this one.”

“What’s the matter?” KGBeast asked with a chuckle of amusement. “Are you afraid of dealing with me?”

“No,” John confessed as he studied his opponent. “I’m actually more worried about Sinestro. She gets a hold of him and there won’t be anything left of him to take to prison.”

“And you really think there’s going to be anything left once I’m done with you?”

“You talk too much,” John decided with an impatient scowl. “Let’s shut you up for a while.”

Using his ring, Lantern created a green bubble around his adversary before hurling him hard against a nearby wall. It did little to bring the large man down. KGBeast leapt to his feet, enraged and already rushing towards Green Lantern who swiftly raised a shield to block his path. KGBeast slammed his fists against the shield with no effect on it.

Green Arrow continued to struggle with Copperhead who had him pinned to the ground. Ollie had his hands clamped down hard on Copperhead’s jaw, trying to keep his fangs from piercing his shoulder. Copperhead had his hands around Ollie’s throat, trying to choke him or inject him with his poison—whichever he could accomplish first. 

With a grunt, Arrow lifted his knee, slamming it hard into Copperhead’s gut. The reptilian groaned as he rolled off Arrow, holding his abdomen. Arrow rolled over onto his hands and knees, coughing and fighting to catch his breath. Ollie reached out to grab his bow, needing to end this now so he could help Shayera get to Sinestro.

In one fluid motion, he snatched his bow and drew a bola arrow from his quiver, firing it at Copperhead. The bola rapidly surrounded the snake man, keeping him out of the fight for now. “Hey! Get me out of this!” Copperhead yelled.

“Not a chance,” Arrow replied, drawing back his fist and hitting him square in the jaw. “Now maybe we can something done around here.”

Turning, he found Green Lantern tangling with KGBeast while Shayera beat away at Sinestro’s shield. Deciding Lantern could handle himself, he drew an explosive arrow, directing it at the yellow shield with little affect.

“New attack,” Arrow yelled to Shayera, using his chin to point at the wall behind Sinestro.

Shayera nodded her head in understanding as she took off down the hall, Arrow racing towards Sinestro to keep him occupied while Hawkgirl moved in from behind. Sinestro threw his head back and laughed as he watched Ollie using one arrow after another without any advancement.

“You really think you’re going to be able to get through, Archer?” Sinestro taunted him.

“Probably not,” Arrow replied with a shrug of a shoulder, “but I’m pretty sure she can.”

Before Sinestro could register what was happening, Shayera barreled through the wall with a cry of pure rage, her mace aimed straight at Sinestro’s head. She knocked him out before he could even raise his arm to create a counter defense against the furious Thanagarian.

“Well, I don’t think he’ll be talking any time soon,” Arrow quipped, but there was a grim undertone to his remark. He knew his friends weren’t fairing well. Time was rapidly running out, faster than he cared to think about.

“Let’s get him back to the Watchtower,” Green Lantern said as he stepped over KGBeast’s body lying on the ground. “We’ll get what we need out of him up there before taking him back to Oa for trial.”

“I’ll take of cleaning up here with Canary and Supergirl,” Arrow replied. “Just get our friends back.”

“That’s the only plan,” Shayera stated with icy determination.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

**_Wayne Manor; June 23rd, 23:01 EST_ **

Dick sat in Bruce’s large black chair in the Batcave holding his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees as he lost himself in his thoughts. He felt so inadequate to be sitting here in this chair that belonged to Bruce despite the fact that he had managed to finally put Poison Ivy back in Arkam with a little help from their friends.

He still couldn’t help but feel as though he should have gotten to her sooner, stopped her before so many people had become infected by her plant toxin. He could take some comfort in the fact that the patients at Gotham General were making some progress, the toxin being purged from their systems. Now, if they could only find a way to help Bruce and Diana.

Bruce.

He was feeling so many things in that moment as he sat in the solitude of the Batcave, emotions that he didn’t really want to deal with or face. He had just gotten back an hour or so ago from the Watchtower and spending time with his surrogate father. 

Bruce hadn’t woken up again after hallucinating about his parents being there, remaining unconscious for the rest of the time that Dick had spent up there. To say that it had been gut-wrenching would’ve been the understatement of the century. So much raw emotion had bled into Bruce’s voice as he had talked with his parents as if they had really been there, sharing his heart with them and telling them about the woman that he loved more than anything in this world.

The only solace that Dick had been able to take away from his time up there was the fact that Bruce had finally told Diana how he felt about her. He just hoped that he didn’t push her away later once they were cured of this damned virus. It would be just like Bruce to suddenly run and hide, burying himself in his mission and sequestering himself in his cave, distancing himself from Diana again.

Dick feared if that happened, Diana would never come back to Bruce every again.

The sound of footsteps startled him from his brooding, causing him to turn around. He was surprised to find Zatanna approaching the platform, wondering how she had gotten in here without him noticing it. “Zee,” he softly greeted her, straightening up in his chair at the sight of her. A feeling of warmth slowly spread through him clear to his toes, a smile touching his lips.

“I came by to see how you were doing,” she said, a tentative expression gracing her face. “Alfred told me that you had gone to the ‘Tower to see Bruce earlier today.”

Dick released a long, slow breath as he contemplated his answer, the heavy ache in his heart expanding. “I would normally just say that I’m fine, but that would be a lie and I’m not in the mood to try to convince you that I am.”

“I didn’t expect you to be fine, Dick,” she gently told him. “I’d be more worried about you if you had told me that you were fine.”

He watched as she drew closer, a sense of peace invading the anguish that had settled over him this afternoon after his visit with Bruce. “It’s pretty bad, Zee,” he whispered, fighting back the tears that abruptly caused his throat to clench painfully.

Zatanna settled against the desk directly in front of him, reaching out to take his hands in hers. “We can’t give up hope yet,” she attempted to encourage him as she squeezed his hands in hers. “Bruce is strong and far too stubborn to die. He’ll be up and brooding before we all know it, being the annoying pain in the neck that we all love.”

Dick slowly shook his head as he bit at his bottom lip. “I don’t think that’s going to happen this time. You should’ve seen him, Zee. I’ll never be able to forget how horrible it was.”

“What happened, Dick?”

“He looks terrible…so does Diana,” he revealed. His mind began to take him back to a place he didn’t want to revisit any time soon, but he knew that talking to her about it would only help him. “This virus is just sucking all the life right out of them. Diana is on life support now and Bruce…Bruce is having hallucinations when he is conscious.”

“What kind of hallucinations?”

“His parents,” Dick murmured, a haunted look filling his eyes. “He thought his parents were there with him. It was awful, Zee. He just started pouring his heart to them and they weren’t even there. He was begging them to stay, pleading with them not to leave him again.”

Zatanna moved to kneel in front of Dick, her hand moving to cup his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Dick,” she softly said, feeling the weight of his grief. “I just can’t imagine Bruce being taken down by a stupid virus like this. He just always seems so invincible…larger than life itself.”

“I know,” he agreed as he lost himself in her eyes that were filled such concern for him. “It’s so crazy. I never would have guessed that something like this would end up taking him away from us. I had always imagined Gotham would somehow be the death of him…not this.”

Zatanna felt as though her heart was breaking for him. She’d always had a special place in her heart when it came to Bruce, a crush unrealized that had turned into friendship and respect. Now, her friend was in trouble and there absolutely nothing that she could do about it.

“I think Bruce had always believed that as well,” she admitted. “I don’t think he ever really expected to live to be an old man.”

“He always assumed that Joker would get a luck shot in or that he would go out one night and never come back home,” he agreed. “It never stopped him from going out on patrol, though.”

“He’s so logical about everything,” she said with a fond smile playing on her lips. “He just takes it all in stride, going out every single night regardless of the risks to his life.”

Dick chuckled softly, amusement momentarily flitting through his eyes. “I remember one night we went out on patrol when I was still Robin. I wasn’t even Tim’s age yet, but I really wanted to prove myself to him, show him that I could pull my own weight and be just as good as Batman.”

Zatanna smirked. “Oh no,” she muttered, shaking her head. “What did you do?”

“I tried to take on a whole street gang by myself,” he informed her, rubbing his face with his hands as if trying to banish the embarrassing memory. “There were ten of them and one of me and I was definitely not as big as I am now.”

Zatanna giggled with the picture he was painting. “Don’t tell me you got your ass handed to you.”

“Only partially,” Dick corrected her, his cheeks growing warm with the reminder. “I had told Bruce I was going in, cutting him off when he told me to wait on him. Thankfully, he showed up before they actually killed me. Bruce ended up with a bullet in his shoulder because I had gone in without waiting on him.”

Zatanna shook her head in amazement. “I can only imagine the lecture that you received after that one.”

“Actually, he didn’t say a word to me about it,” he commented.

“What?”

“I know,” Dick replied, nodding his head. “I was shocked too, but he knew that I felt absolutely horrible about it. Making me sit there and watch as Alfred dug that bullet out of his shoulder and patch him back up was more than enough punishment. I didn’t disobey his orders again after that.”

“Yah, right,” Zatanna said with a roll of her eyes. “You two always argue.”

“Okay, well I didn’t disobey his orders for like a month at least,” he amended with a laugh.

“Did you manage to take any of them out by yourself before Bats showed up to bail you out?” she asked.

Dick grinned proudly, his blue eyes sparkling. “Four of them.”

“Not bad for a scrawny kid with an ego,” she teased.

“Yah, I was pretty scrawny back then,” he agreed. “It was after that disaster that Bruce really busted my butt, making me work out twice a day to build more muscle mass and work on my combat skills.”

“And look at you now,” she murmured, her eyes roaming over his perfect form in obvious appreciation of what she saw.

Dick’s face grew solemn, his eyes bright with unwanted tears as he stared at Zatanna. “What am I going to do if he dies?” he softly choked out. “I’ll have lost two fathers if Bruce dies.”

Zatanna got up to her feet, climbing into his lap and wrapping her arms around him. Dick readily slipped his arms around her, holding onto her for dear life as the damn finally broke free. She felt her own tears begin to fall as she comforted him, her heart breaking not only for Dick, but for Bruce as well.

She wanted to keep reassuring him that it was going to be okay, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it again. If they lost Bruce, it wasn’t going to be okay. It would never be all right ever again. Life with Bruce could be difficult and trying at best sometimes, but life without him would be next to unbearable.

After several long minutes, Dick finally pulled back, wiping the tears from his face in embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, averting his gaze from her and yet he was acutely aware of the beautiful woman sitting in his lap, her sweet scent assaulting senses.

Gentle hands cradling his face forced him to meet her understanding eyes, fresh tears still clinging to her dark eyelashes. “You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about, Dick. I understand and I’m here for you no matter.”

He felt as though his heart was pounding loud enough for her to hear it as he leaned in and gently pressed his lips against hers. His arms slipped tighter around her, drawing her closer as he deepened the kiss. Even though he’d had feelings for Donna for quite some time and had been secretly hoping that she’d break up with Kyle, he couldn’t deny the feelings that the magician in his arms was stirring inside of him.

Zatanna readily returned his kiss, more than a little thrilled that he seemed to share in the attraction that she felt with him. She didn’t know how far things would actually go with the handsome Dick Grayson, but she was more than anxious to find out.

Breaking the kiss, Dick couldn’t help the smile that lit his face, the darkening in his gaze. “Thank you for being here, Zee,” he told her. “I couldn’t have gotten through this last week without you.”

“I think that you could have managed without me, but I’m glad that I could help. Would you like some company on patrol tonight?”

Dick’s smile grew with her offer, a measure of the weight he was carrying lifting somewhat with her close proximity. “I’d love the company, but don’t you have a show to do tonight?”

She shrugged a shoulder, a smile tugging at the corner of her red lips. “I got someone to cover me.”

“Let’s go then,” he said.

“Can I drive?” she asked with a grin.

“Not a chance,” he stated with a definitive shake of his head. “Bruce would kill me if I let you drive and I’m not going to bet against him managing to survive this somehow. It would be just like him to make a miraculous recovery just to come down here and kick my butt for letting someone else drive his beloved car.”

“Fine,” she grumbled, “but you’re taking me out for breakfast in the morning.”

“And what about this weekend?” he ventured, a smirk on his lips and hope in his voice.

“If you play your cards right, bird boy,” she teased, kissing him again.

“Oh, I plan on playing them perfectly,” he flirted, standing up and setting her on the ground before grabbing his gloves and domino mask.

Taking her by the hand, he led her towards the waiting Batmobile. He was still fearful of what was going to happen with Bruce and Diana, but having Zatanna here with him somehow made it just a little more bearable.

_**Watchtower Isolation; June 24th, 06:35 EST** _

Alfred carefully slipped into the hazmat suit that J’onn had given him to put on, trying to control the tremble that roiled through him and settled into his fingers. After what Dick had told him, he didn’t know if he could bear seeing Bruce like this. Dick had been completely rattled by what he’d experienced up here, making Alfred more than a little apprehensive.

He had seen Bruce through every injury and tragedy imaginable, mended his wounds and by the grace of God managed to bring him back from the brink of death more times than he cared to think about. This, though, this wasn’t something he could fix for him.

He felt like it was one nightmare that was never going to end, stealing away the man who was like a son to him. He suddenly felt so much older than his seventy year old frame as he slipped on the boots and gloves.

Pulling the helmet over his head, Alfred stiffly made his way to the entrance of the isolation room, his heart in his throat with what he was going to face. He had always been the glue holding the family together, the voice of reason and the fountain of wisdom, keeping the peace and making sure everything ran efficiently. Now, he was just a man visiting his dying son.

Entering isolation, Alfred was met by the steady beeping of several monitors and machines, a sense of somber acceptance of the inevitable hanging thickly in the air as he watched J’onn change one of Diana’s IV bags.

His gaze moved to the beautiful Amazon lying so still in the bed to the left, a machine pumping air into her lungs. It broke his heart to see the once vibrant princess like this, fondly remembering the time she had spent living at the manor when the new Watchtower was being rebuilt. 

He silently made his way to her bedside, taking her hand in his glove. This was all so unfair, so cruel and senseless. It was difficult seeing her clinging to life, barely hanging on. He could still see a flicker of fight in her, giving him hope that they still might make it through all of this despite the odds against them.

“Keep fighting, your highness,” Alfred encouraged her as he leaned in close. “You have a man here with you who loves you more than you can begin to imagine. I know he’s most difficult and infuriating beyond words sometimes, but I doubt there’s anyone in this world that could love you more than he does.”

Alfred swore he felt an almost imperceptible squeezing of his hand, giving him hope that she had heard him and understood what he had told her. Of course, he knew it could’ve just been wishful thinking on his part. He’d always dreamed of Bruce finding real love and he knew his surrogate son had truly found it in Diana for the first time in his life. He just prayed that they would survive this and have the life together they both deserved.

The image of Bruce and Diana married and raising a child in Wayne Manor brought unbelievable joy to his heart. It was something that he knew Bruce’s parents would’ve wanted for their son, not the self-imposed solitude that he had insisted on in order to protect his heart from suffering anymore hurt.

“Has Queen Hippolyta been informed of her daughter’s condition?” Alfred asked J’onn, his voice revealing his heartache at seeing the woman that he come to care about like this.

“Yes,” J’onn replied. “Superman has been in constant communication with Diana’s mother, giving her updates. Queen Hippolyta is petitioning her gods for healing, but it obviously has not been answered as of yet.”

Turning away from the princess, Alfred’s attention finally settled on his reason for being here in the first place. His heart clenched at the sight of Bruce lying there so motionless as if he had already lost the one who had become the most important person in his life. 

He somehow managed to make his legs work despite the fact they suddenly felt like rubber, slowly taking him to Bruce’s bedside. He silently settled into the chair at his bedside, his heart nearly breaking with how frail Bruce looked. Dick had tried to warn him how poor his condition had become, but he still could never have been fully prepared for what he was met with now.

“Bruce,” Alfred hoarsely said, his gloved hand coming to rest on top of his son’s. Clearing his throat, he tried again, putting some strength back into his voice “It’s me…I’m here, Bruce.”

Alfred watched for some sort of sign that Bruce knew or understood that he was here with him. His worried gaze roamed over his face, hoping that he would open his eyes for him, but received no response from him except for the monitors steady beeping.

He couldn’t up but remember Bruce as a little boy sick in bed with strep throat…caring for him when he had the chicken pox. A faint smile curled the corners of his lips as he remembered Bruce trying to talk his way out of staying in bed sick with a high fever even at five years old.

Even as a little boy, he had always been stubborn, refusing to let anything stop him. He had known even then that he had been destined to do incredible things and he hadn’t been the least bit wrong. He had proven to be a driving force in trying to save Gotham from the hell it was swiftly sliding into and had done so as both Bruce Wayne and Batman.

Alfred didn’t think that he could have been prouder of the man that Bruce had grown to become. While he wished that he would allow himself to be loved, permit himself the happiness that his parents and he would have wanted for him, he understood his surrogate son’s struggle with believing that he truly deserved it.

Bruce felt that he wasn’t worthy of such things in his life, always working to ensure it for everyone but himself. In the end, though, Alfred believed that no one deserved it more than Bruce. He had tried over the years to help him see that, but he feared the effects of his parents’ death and his commitment to a vow made at their graves ran too deep along with the pain and bitterness that came with it.

Glancing over at the Amazon on his left, Alfred couldn’t help but feel she was the perfect woman to help him heal those hurts and put a little boy’s heart back together again, to help him believe in real love for the first time in his life. He feared now it was far too late for that to happen.

Leaning forward, he gripped Bruce’s hand more firmly, refusing to give up hope that he would come through this. “Bruce Thomas Wayne,” Alfred began, his voice stern but filled with love. “You listen and you listen good, young man. Don’t you dare give up now. I know you are in there and you damn well better be fighting this with everything you have or I will kick your arse from here to England and back again.

“Do you hear me? You are not allowed to give up and die on us. There are too many people who care about you starting with me and especially that young woman stuck here in isolation with you. She needs you too, Bruce. She’s fighting for her life as well right now. We all need you to be strong and to hang on.”

Alfred sat up a little straighter after his lecture, hoping against hope that it had some sort of effect on him. He wasn’t about to coddle him…never had even when he was a little boy. He had shown him love and compassion when necessary, but now was not the time for that. Now was the time to fight with all that he had in the biggest battle of his life.

Dick had told him how Bruce had given him instructions about his will and the videos that he had made for each of them. It had been a bit of a shock hearing how Bruce was resigning himself to the fact that he might not get out of this one alive and yet it was so like Bruce to be prepared for everything, having a contingency plan for every situation. 

Still not receiving a response from him, Alfred decided he was going to continue talking to him regardless, hoping that some of what he had to say was getting through to him, bringing him some measure of comfort at the very least and motivating him to fight at best.

“Master Timothy was very upset this morning when he discovered that I was coming up to see you and he couldn’t come along,” Alfred told him as he talked to him for what felt like an eternity and yet only a few minutes at most. “Dick and I felt it was best that he not see you like this. We don’t want him to remember you like this if they can’t find a cure in time, but that is no excuse for you to give up or stop fighting. That is not the way that I raised you or taught you to handle life.”

Alfred was stunned when he felt a slight squeeze of his hand. It made his heart skip a beat as hope took root that he was getting through to him. “Yes, that’s it, Master Bruce,” he encouraged him, excitement filtering into his voice. “Keep fighting. This is no different than taking on Joker or Scarecrow.”

He waited for several moments for another response, but received no more sign that Bruce heard him. That didn’t discourage him or keep him from trying again. “I believe you will be quite surprised to learn of a rather recent development in the Wayne household,” Alfred continued on. “It would seem that a certain Miss Zatara has taken quite a liking to Master Dick and the feeling is more than mutual.

“I can’t say that I didn’t see it coming, but I’m rather surprised that it only took a handful of days. I must say they work very well together. They have been doing an extraordinary job taking care of Gotham for you. Now, that is no excuse for you to be lying here in this bed wasting away to skin and bones. 

“As soon as they get this nasty virus cured, I’ll be personally nursing you and Miss Diana back to health at the manor and getting some meat back on your bones. You’ll both be back on your feet in no time under my close supervision.”

Bruce murmured something in response, causing Alfred to lean in closer. Unfortunately, the breathing mask made it a little difficult to decipher what he had said. Alfred could have sworn he had said Diana’s name, but, then again, it might just be wishful thinking on his part.

“You will be proud to hear that Master Dick and Miss Zatanna managed to stop several robberies, three muggings, and two attempted rapes last night,” he informed him, hoping that news about Gotham would help fuel his drive to fight. “They also caught Riddler, but I’m not going to tell you how all of that business came about. You have to get better so you can read Master Dick’s report about it for yourself once you return home.”

Bruce mumbled something again, his brow furrowing as if annoyed with Alfred for refusing to tell him everything about Gotham. He growled low in his throat as if trying to fight the hold that unconsciousness held over him.

“Come on, Bruce,” Alfred sternly told him. “Show me you’re still in there. Show me that obstinate arse that I know that you are.”

Bruce’s head turned towards the sound of Alfred’s voice, his eyes fluttering open enough to glare darkly at the man who was doing his very best to irritate him to no end. “Alfred…” he weakly rasped, his voice not even a fraction of the formidable Dark Knight of Gotham.

Alfred could hardly hold back the tears that filled his eyes, brimming until finally spilling over. “Well, it’s about damn time. I’ve been sitting here for nearly an hour talking to myself like a fool, hoping that you were hearing at least some of it.”

Bruce tightened his hold on Alfred’s hand, seeing the tears trailing down the elderly man’s cheeks despite the mask that he wore. “How can anyone…sleep…with your…incessant talking?” he griped.

“Well, someone had to come in and poke the bear in order to get you to fight,” Alfred claimed, more than relieved that he was awake.

“I haven’t given up yet…old man,” he hoarsely replied. “Now…tell me about Riddler. What was he doing...to my city?”

Alfred thought about it for a moment, wondering if he should tell him. He didn’t want any more stress put on him than what was already going on. “He was evidently planning on kidnapping the mayor’s daughter, but Master Dick and Miss Zatanna discovered the plot and were able to stop it before anything actually happened.”

“Good,” Bruce murmured, his eyelids feeling heavy and more than difficult to hold open. “I have to tell you—”

“Don’t you even dare begin that nonsense talk with me, young man,” Alfred sternly scolded him, a frown on his face. “I didn’t come up here to listen to you jabber twaddle about wills and last wishes and bull rubbish. You are going to pull through this just like you always pull through everything else that you’ve ever gone up against.”

“Alfred…” Bruce began, his voice trailing off in defeat.

“No, I will not hear of it,” he insisted. “You are not going to give up. Do you hear me?”

“I was just going to say…I told Diana…that I love her,” he breathlessly confessed as he watched the older man’s expression shift from anger to surprise to joy.

“You did?” he gasped in stunned disbelief.

“It’s too late now. I…I’m going…to lose her,” Bruce sadly said, glancing through the bedrail just to catch a glimpse of her.

“It’s never too late to tell someone that you love them,” Alfred firmly reassured him. “We’re not giving up hope and you shouldn’t either. You and Diana are going to get the chance to be together.”

“Never took you…to be…such a hopeless romantic,” Bruce replied, unable to keep his eyes open any longer.

“Well then, I guess you better stick around to make an old man’s romantic dreams come true for him,” Alfred told him. “I’m holding out hope for a grandchild or two.”

“I’ll do…my best,” Bruce mumbled, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes tightening as he tried to muster a small smile.

“Good, because I am more than anxious for Miss Diana’s presence at the manor again,” Alfred said. “She adds a much needed brightness and warmth that is sorely missing ever since she moved out.”

“I…I can be warm…and bright,” he insisted, but failed miserably at sounding the least bit convincing.

Alfred pursed his lips, but his eyes sparkled with amusement. “I believe the virus has made you delirious, Master Bruce. Perhaps I should leave and let you get more rest.”

“No…please,” Bruce softly said, panic flashing in his half-open eyes. “Don’t go, Alfred.”

“There’s no other place I’d rather be,” Alfred assured him, squeezing his hand. “I’ve nursed you back to health ever since you were baby. I’m not about to stop any time soon.”

A small smile curved the corners of Bruce’s mouth as his eyes fell closed, a sense of peace settling over him and causing him to relax again. “Thank you…Alfred,” he mumbled.

“You never have to thank me, Master Bruce,” Alfred said, fighting back the well of thick tears that threatened to overwhelm him once more.

**_Cairo, Egypt; June 24th, 12:32 EET_ **

Ra’s al Ghul leaned over the table he was standing before, one hand resting on top next to the map and the various plans that were spread out all over. “I think our best bet is to hit five cities at once spread across the globe. That should spread the League out while we execute the second phase of our plan.”

“Which cities are you planning to attack this time?” Talia asked from her position directly across the table from him.

“Toronto, San Francisco, Rome, Beijing, and Buenos Aires,” Ra’s ticked off the list one by one. “That should keep them scurrying like mice while we hit our other main target. The detective will never see this coming…that is if he’s even still alive.”

“Do you think they’ll suspect that we’re planning a secondary attack?” she voiced her concerns. She didn’t want to sound as though she was questioning her father or his mission, but she wanted to make sure this attack was flawless.

“No, they’ll be far too busy trying to contain the virus to even consider that there might be trouble on their very own Watchtower,” Ra’s told her, a wicked gleam in his dark eyes.

“So far we’ve not seen one person infected yet save for my beloved and that Amazon,” she replied, practically spitting out the last word as if it was poison in her mouth.

“It’s only a matter of time now, my dear,” Ra’s responded with great patience. “The League was able to intercept our other targeted devices, but they won’t be able to stop all five of them this time. None of these locations were on that USB drive so they will have no warning until it’s far too late.”

“What if the League has been able to create an antidote and has managed to save my beloved?” she pressed further, determined to find a way to save the man that she loved if at all possible. She’d never give up on him no matter the odds against him.

“I have something special in mind set aside especially for the detective if by some miracle he and the Amazon have somehow managed to survive this,” he ominously revealed with a sly grin. “I have discovered a certain fascination with the pair since catching them snooping around my compound, on that I wish to explore further.”

Talia stared hard at her father in shock, disliking any notion that involved her beloved paired with that Amazon whore. “What do you have in mind, father?”

“You will find out soon enough, Talia,” he calmly reassured her, “but they must survive the virus first.”


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

_**Watchtower; June 24th, 07:01 EST** _

John’s fist slammed down hard, causing the table to shudder with the force of the impact. Sinestro only stared at him with dark eyes, clearly unimpressed or unfazed by the threats being made towards him. “You aren’t going to do anything to me,” Sinestro evenly replied. “The League has a ‘do not kill policy’ so your threats are completely empty. The League is nothing but a bunch of do-gooders with no backbones.”

“I’d be more than happy to show backbone,” John said with a sneer as he moved to stand over him, using his height to intimidate him.

Sinestro snorted in amusement, arms crossed and a single eyebrow arched in disbelief. “You’re the weakest of all…you and your Green Lantern Corp,” he shot back. “You could wield real power if you wanted to, but you choose to be nothing more than a passive shepherd with his flock. Wolves are creeping in all around you and yet you know you can’t really protect your sheep. You’re just as helpless as they are.”

“So is that why you’ve been spreading this virus all over the galaxy? Trying to make the Lantern Corp look bad?”

Sinestro smirked at him. “It’s far too easy just to make you look bad. I’m not only trying to take you down, but turn the entire planet against you as well as the entire Lantern Corp.”

“So you sell the contagion to the likes of Ra’s al Ghul of all people?” John growled, fighting the urge to pick him up and slam him up against the nearest all…or through it. 

“He seemed like the perfect source to go to,” Sinestro said matter-of-factly. “He wants to destroy the world and I want to destroy the Green Lanterns. Kill two birds with one virus so to speak and make lots of money in the process. The world becomes infected, loses faith in the Green Lantern to protect them and they turn against you. It couldn’t get much better than that.”

“You son of a—” John began, leaning forward to grab Sinestro only to be brought to a stop by the opening of the interrogation room door.

John looked up in shock to see Superman entering in a hazmat suit, his gaze immediately narrowing in concern. He hadn’t been able to get anywhere with Sinestro who was still sitting at the table with his arms crossed in utter defiance, a dark scowl on his face. Something was obviously wrong now, though.

“We have a problem,” Superman stated, his voice conveying the severity of the situation.

John straightened up, his gaze never leaving his teammate’s face as he folded his arms against his chest. “What’s going on?”

“There was an accident in the lab,” Superman grimly replied. “The contagion got into a portion of the vent system. The Watchtower is in complete lockdown.”

“How much of the Watchtower is affected?” John asked, panic rising.

“This level as well as decks three and four,” Superman told him.

Sinestro began to fidget, his posture shifting with the unexpected news. He did his best to remain disinterested and unfazed, but his façade was beginning to crack ever so subtly as his forearms moved to rest on the table.

“What are we going to do?” John demanded to know. “We haven’t been able to come up with a cure yet for the virus and now the Watchtower is compromised.”

“There’s nothing we can do,” Superman said with a shake of his head. “J’onn said it could take weeks to months before an antidote can be created. The areas that haven’t been infected are being evacuated as we speak in an effort to protect as many members of the Justice League as possible.”

“And what about us?” John asked.

“It looks like you two are trapped here as well as fifteen other League members who have been infected,” Superman reported. “We’ll make sure you have all the provisions you will need, but I’m afraid that it doesn’t look good.”

Sinestro began to tug at the collar of his uniform, his dark eyes darting about the room from the door to the window and to the vents in the ceiling. He scooted his chair back a little in an effort to put some distance between him and the nearest vent.

“This can’t be happening. I have to get Sinestro to Oa for trial,” John insisted. “We still need to the antidote to stop this.”

“You and Sinestro have to stay here now with the others who were infected,” Superman stated. “We’re going to have to move you both to isolation with the others so we can monitor the virus’s affect on you.”

Sinestro’s face grew pale as blue smoke slowly began to filter through one of the vents on the far end of the room. He leapt to his feet, his eyes wide with fear as he backed himself up into a corner. “You have to get me out of here!”

John backed up as well, using his ring to contain the gas leaking into the room from the vent, but was unable to block the other two vents that began to leak gass. “We need to get out of here now!”

“Too late,” Superman said. “Once it’s in the air—”

“No, you have to do something!” Sinestro cried, turning towards the Man of Steel and clutching his hazmat suit in his fists. “You have to save me!”

“We don’t have an antidote,” Superman reminded him. “It will take weeks to develop a cure.”

“We don’t have that long,” Sinestro yelled. “Don’t you imbeciles know we’ll be dead in seven days?”

“And whose fault is that?” John ground out, pulling Sinestro off Superman. “You did this. Now, fix it.”

Blue gas continued to seep into the room, getting thicker and making it harder to see. “I’ll give you the antidote,” Sinestro swore. “Just save me first.”

“Where is the antidote?” Superman demanded.

Sinestro reached down and pulled a small microchip out of a secret compartment in his boot, handing it over to Superman. “Just make the antidote and give to me right away. I can’t die here like this.”

“And yet it was all right to try to destroy our friends and wipe out the world?” Superman spat out, fury blazing in his eyes as he clutched the front of Sinestro’s uniform, lifting him up off the ground. “Why should we do anything to save your pathetic life now?”

“I’m cooperating and I gave you the antidote,” Sinestro insisted, his eyes still wide with fear. “That should count for something. Now, get working on the antidote before I get sick.”

With his free hand, Superman removed his hazmat helmet, holding it out to the side and letting it drop to the ground as he stared into Sinestro’s eyes. “You’re not going to die…at least not this time.”

“It was all a trick?” Sinestro cried in shock.

Green Lantern slumped in relief, his backside coming to rest against the edge of the table as he released a ragged sigh of relief. He leaned forward, his hands coming to rest on his thighs as his chin fell to his chest. He had hoped it was all just an act, but a part of him had been truly afraid it was real.

“Yes, and we got what we wanted,” Clark angrily stated, turning and pushing Sinestro’s back against the wall none too gently. “Now, you’re going back to Oa to stand for your crimes against the galaxy.”

Sinestro sneered at the Man of Steel. “One way or another, I’ll find a way to escape and I will be back.”

Clark pressed his forearm harder against his chest, causing Sinestro to begin to struggle for breath. A firm hand on his shoulder brought Superman back from the edge. “Let him go,” Lantern softly said from behind him. “He’s not worth it.”

Superman glared hotly at the man he had pinned up against the wall. He had nearly killed his friends, made them suffer beyond imagine all because he wanted to destroy the Green Lanterns. Remembering how both Bruce and Diana were struggling just to stay alive made him want to crush his throat right here and now.

With a clenched jaw and a tremble of anger, Clark reluctantly released his hold on him, allowing him to slide down the wall. Sinestro gasped for breath as Superman stormed out of the room, leaving the villain alone again with John who was contemplating his own form of punishment.

Entering the viewing room, Clark set his hazmat helmet on the table, unable to meet Shayera and Flash’s probing gazes. He ran his fingers back through his hair, drawing a deep breath in an effort to calm his anger. It scared him how easily he could have crushed Sinestro in that moment and he wouldn’t have regretted it one bit. He had come close to losing his two best friends—too close.

“You know we could have just gotten Wondy’s lasso from isolation and used it to force Sinestro into talking,” Wally remarked, cutting through the tension that filled the room.

Shayera and Superman both looked at Wally, somewhat surprised by his idea. “Or we could have done that,” Shayera supposed with a frown, wishing she had thought of it.

“That would have worked too,” Superman agreed with a nod of his head. “Where were you with that idea about half an hour ago?”

Wally smugly grinned at Shayera who rolled her eyes in response. “Okay…okay,” she muttered. “You had a decent idea for a change.”

“What?” Wally asked, holding his hand to his ear. “Could you please repeat that? I didn’t hear you. I believe you said something about me having a fabulous idea.”

“I said a decent idea and that’s all you’ll get,” Shay snapped at him. “Take it or leave it.”

“It’s much better than your idea of using Plastic Man as a sling-shot,” Superman said with a frown.

“Hey, it was a wicked awesome idea and you all know it,” Wally insisted.

“Just get this to J’onn right away,” Clark told him, handing him the microchip, “and don’t lose it along the way.”

“You can trust me,” Flash replied, standing at full attention and giving him a military salute before disappearing from sight.

Superman shook his head as he leaned his back against the wall, his expression solemn. “I could have so easily done it, Shay,” he softly admitted.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Shayera reassured him, placing a hand on his forearm. “Why do you think John made me stay out here instead of letting me in there with Sinestro?”

Clark smiled in response, but his blue eyes conveyed his heartache. “We came so close to losing them both. We still might if this doesn’t work in time.”

“I know,” she murmured, pausing to swallow past the painful knot that had unexpectedly settled in her throat, “but they’ll pull through this. They have to. They’re both far too stubborn to die.”

“I’ll just feel better when I see Diana’s smile and hear Bruce pitching a fit to get out of the infirmary.”

Shayera laughed, nodding her head in agreement. “It’ll be happening faster than you think.”

“Do you think this will finally bring those two together?” he asked.

“If this doesn’t, I don’t know what will,” she commented as she turned to leave.

**_Watchtower Laboratory; June 24th, 12:37 EST_ **

Superman entered the lab to find J’onn and Atom working furiously on the antidote to save Bruce and Diana, both well aware of how quickly the clock was ticking down for both of them. Atom glanced up from his work long enough to nod at the Man of Steel, J’onn too focused on what he was doing to acknowledge him.

“Was Sinestro’s microchip helpful?” Superman asked.

“Indeed, it has provided the information that we greatly needed,” J’onn replied, his stoic voice holding an element of hope that had been missing over the last couple of days.

After their attempt at a cure had failed to produce any significant improvement in either of them, J’onn had been nearly despondent, the heavy weight that rested on him to save their friends taking its toll on him. He hadn’t rested all week save for a handful of hours here and there, more than determined to find an antidote and keep his friends alive. Now, it looked as though they had finally gotten the break they’d grown so desperate for and none too soon either.

“Well, it should be helpful,” Clark said, folding his arms against his chest. “I scared the life out of Sinestro in order to get it.”

“I heard that you didn’t do Lantern much good either,” Atom remarked with a laugh. “Flash said that John nearly had a heart attack.”

“I thought for sure he would’ve caught on,” Clark replied with an incredulous shake of his head. “There is no possible way that levels three and four could both be contaminated with the way the Watchtower is designed. There’s hooked up to separate vent systems to keep something like that from happening.”

“Wow, Batman really thought of everything when he designed this place, didn’t he?” Atom commented, obviously impressed.

“Yah, I have to hand it to the guy,” Clark agreed. “His paranoia has probably saved us and will continue to save us more times then we can count.”

“Be careful,” Atom warned him with a grin. “He may be in a coma right now, but Batman always manages to find out what’s said about him.”

Clark snorted in agreement. “Don’t I know it. I swear that man’s not human.”

“I think I’ve got it,” J’onn suddenly announced, straightening up and holding out a test tube for Ray to see.

A look of sheer relief washed over Atom’s face as he stared at the test tube filled with thick yellow serum. “Time to try that bad boy out.”

“How long will it take to see some sign of improvement?” Clark asked.

“We’re hoping we’ll see some positive signs within a couple of hours or so, but the microchip didn’t really provide any guidelines to follow,” Ray confessed. “It gave a combination of components for the antidote, but, from here on out, we’re just making it up as we go.”

“I’m going to add this to a couple of IV bags and get them both hooked up right away,” J’onn announced.

“I’m going to check on them now,” Clark told them as he turned to leave, his commlink signaling an incoming message.

“Supergirl to Superman.”

“This is Superman. How’s it going, Kara?”

“We’ve got the situation in Hong Kong under control now,” she informed him. “Some of the contagion escaped, but we were able to contain before anyone became infected.”

“Good,” Superman replied with a sigh of relief. They were cutting it closer and closer each time. It wouldn’t be long before Ra’s decided to deviate from his plan in order to get ahead of them. “Bring it in and we’ll dispose of it.”

“You got it, cousin,” Kara responded. “Supergirl out.”

“Red Tornado to Superman.”

“This is Superman.”

“It appears we have another situation in Spain,” he relayed. “A mysterious device has just been discovered in Madrid.”

“Get a team down there now to contain it,” Superman instructed him.

“Already started transporting a team,” he told him.

“Good,” he replied. “Keep me posted and let me know if I’m needed.”

“Will do. Red Tornado out.”

Clark wearily rubbed the back of his neck as he made his way to isolation in the infirmary. The devices were coming more and more frequently from places all over the globe. Even with as fast as they were getting to them, they weren’t going to make it in time one of these days and it scared him to end. 

At least they had an antidote now, but it hadn’t been tested as of yet and there were still questions as to whether they could manufacture it quickly enough for hundreds or thousands of people if they did become infected.

They needed to get their hands on Ra’s and shut down his operation permanently. Cutting off the source was going to be the only answer to this mess.

Donning another hazmat suit, Clark made his way into isolation. Diana was still on life support, lying so unbelievably still that it was eerie to say the least. It was as if she’d already died, her body being preserved for display.

Bruce, on the other hand, was mumbling incoherently, his head rolling from side to side as he fought against whatever demons had come back to haunt him. His hands were balled into tight fists, his knuckles white. His face scrunched up, sweat beading on his brow.

Clark quickly made his way to him in hopes of being able to calm him down. “Bruce,” he called to him. “It’s Clark. You’re in isolation on the Watchtower.”

“Diana…I have to save her…” he murmured, his hand moving to grip the front of Clark’s hazmat suit. “I…I need her…love her.”

“I know you do, Bruce,” Clark gently reassured him. “I’m sure Diana knows it too deep down. We have the antidote to save you both. J’onn and Atom were able to create it. You’re both going to be all right.”

“Save her…please…” he begged him, tears shining in his eyes as he stared at him. “I love her…she’s my whole world.”

“J’onn’s bringing the medicine in now for the two of you,” Clark informed him, taking the bowl of water and dipping a cloth in it to place on his feverish forehead. “You’re both going to make it, Bruce.”

“I can’t lose her,” he mumbled, shaking his head as his eyes fell closed. “She means…everything to me.”

An ache settled in Clark’s chest as he watched Bruce fall apart, opening his heart to reveal things that he normally would never say. “You need to calm down, Bruce. Rest for now. J’onn will be here shortly.”

Bruce looked at him with half-opened eyes, his expression turning from panicked to furious in less than a heartbeat. “I won’t let you take her from me,” he growled with a breathy rasp, raising his fists at Clark. “She’s mine…not yours.”

“Diana is my friend…nothing more,” Clark told him, confused by the sudden change in Bruce. “She’s like my sister.”

“You will hurt her…I can’t let you hurt her,” Bruce snarled, his heart rate rising. “I will kill you, Joker. You will never hurt her ever again.”

“Bruce, it’s me,” Clark urgently stated. “Joker is not here.”

Bruce tightened his hold on Clark’s suit, trying to pull him closer. “I will stop you,” he seethed with deadly intent and hate burning in his eyes. “You won’t hurt her…ever again. I will personally see to it.”

“Diana is right here,” Clark told him, grabbing Bruce by the shoulders and forcing him to hear what he was saying. “You are on the Watchtower. Joker is in Gotham.”

“I can’t let her die,” he insisted, his grip relaxing as he fell back against his pillows, murmuring to himself. “She loves me…and I love her.”

J’onn entered at that moment carrying both IV bags. “Does he need more medicine?”

“He needs something,” Clark muttered with a scowl. “He thinks the Joker is here attacking Diana.”

“He’s been having quite vivid hallucinations,” J’onn informed him as he began to hook up the antidote to Bruce’s IV. “Earlier, Bane was trying to crash the Watchtower.”

“Hopefully, this antidote will kick in soon,” Clark said, moving to sit in a chair at Diana’s beside. “I don’t know how much longer they’re going to be able to hang on.”

He picked up Diana’s hand, holding it firmly in his hand. He wished for some sort of response from her, but knew that one was probably never coming…at least not until the antidote began to work. Hopefully, her meta healing abilities would kick in quickly and speed up her recovery. 

He had no doubt that it was going to be next to impossible to keep Bruce here once he began to recover. Ra’s was still out there somewhere and nothing would keep Bruce from trying to find him, regardless if he was fully recovered or not.

_**Infirmary; June 24th, 17:08 EST** _

Shayera and Flash were in the observation room of isolation staring at their two friends, standing side by side with arms crossed as they watched Bruce and Diana for any signs of improvement. Unfortunately, they hadn’t seen any as of yet.

Flash started to laugh, cutting through the tension and causing Shayera to look to her right in confusion. “What?” she asked, incredulous.

“I was just thinking that we’re standing here waiting for them to wake up, but what if they’re awake and just pretending to be asleep right now to play a trick on us.”

“You mean they’re playing opossum?”

“Yah,” Wally said with another snort of laughter. “How hilarious would that be?”

“Not very,” she grumbled with a scowl. “Sometimes I really wonder about you.”

Flash just looked at her like he didn’t know what she was talking about. “You don’t find the slightest bit of humor in that possibility?”

“No,” she snapped, turning her attention back to her friends.

“You’re just ticked because GL wouldn’t let you go along to take Sinestro and the antidote back to Oa,” Flash told her.

She glared at him, swearing under her breath. “I didn’t want to go anyway. I don’t want to be anywhere near that piece of slime. Besides, I want to be here when Bruce and Diana wake up.”

“I’m beginning to worry they might never come out of it,” he admitted, his voice solemn. “What if it’s too late for the antidote to work? What if they’re too bad off?”

“You can’t think like that,” she ground out, harsher than she had intended. She continued on, softening her tone. “We can’t give up on them now. We just—”

Her voice broke off, not wanting to talk about it anymore. “I know what you mean,” he softly said, rubbing the back of his neck. “This is about the worst that we’ve had to deal with since the League was formed. I just hope that we were able to get the antidote to them in time.”

The fear that filled Wally’s voice made her look at look at her friend standing beside her. It was unusual to hear such raw emotion in the scarlet speedster’s voice. He was usually so full of sarcastic comments and mildly amusing quips. Now, his heartache was laid bare before her and it only served to remind her of her own.

She reached over, placing a hand on his forearm. “We’ll get them through this, Wally. We won’t let them down.”

“It’s just so unfair,” he complained. “Bats and Di have just always been there for us and now they’re not.”

Shayera turned to him, her expression hard. “No, they’re still here. They’re not gone yet.”

“I just meant—”

Shayera turned away from him, her jaw clenched tightly. “I know what you meant. I just don’t want to think about it right now.”

Wally looked straight ahead again, a frown forming on his lips as they waited for something that they feared might never come. This just wasn’t fair. They didn’t deserve to go through something like this. They were the ones who always seemed to save the day. Now, they were the ones in need of saving.

“I’m going to go get something to eat,” Wally finally said after several minutes. “Want me to bring you back something?”

“I…” Shayera began only to stop. “Wait.”

“What?” Flash asked.

“I think I saw Diana move,” she replied.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I think she moved her hand.”

“Should I get J’onn and let him know?”

“Wait a minute,” she cautioned him. “Let’s just give her a chance to wake up.”

Flash stared through the glass window, watching with bated breath for any chance that his friend was coming around. After a week of watching them steadily growing worse, it would be a more than welcome sign to see them coming back from the brink of death. He knew if anyone could do it, it would be these two.

“There!” Flash cried excitedly, pointing towards Diana. “I saw her lift her fingers.”

“I’ll go get J’onn and let him know,” Shayera told him, more than a little relieved.

“I’m going in to see Wondy and welcome her back to the world of the living,” Flash said.

Flash quickly threw on a hazmat suit before racing into isolation to check on Diana. He sat down on the edge of her bed like a little kid about to open Christmas presents, almost bouncing up and down in excited anticipation of the moment she would actually open her eyes. He reached out and took hold of her hand, anxious for the moment they were no longer considered contagious.

“Come on, Wondy,” Flash excitedly tried to coax her into cooperating with him. “Time to come out of the coma and play with us again.”

He waited for what felt like an absolute eternity, squeezing her hand in hopes of persuading her to open her eyes. “Stop playing opossum now, Wondy,” he sternly chided her. “Bats here is going to beat you at waking up and you can’t let him win. You’ll never hear the end of it if he gets out of the infirmary before you do.”

He knew that prodding her competitive spirit would have some sort of affect on her. He grinned broadly when a scowl formed on her pale face. “That’s it, Wondy! You can do it. Open you big beautiful blue eyes for your favorite person Wally.”

A low threatening growl could be heard, but unfortunately it came from the bed to Wally’s right. He glanced over there to find Bruce trying to wake up as well, his hands reaching up to remove his breathing mask.

Flash sped over to his bed, pushing his hands away and reattaching his breathing mask. “Hey there, big guy,” Wally greeted him. “Need to keep that on for a little while yet…at least until J’onn gives the green light that you can take it off.”

A drawn-out groan filled his ears at that moment, one that came from Diana’s bed. Flash raced back over to her bedside as she attempted to pull out the breathing tube that had been helping to keep her alive up until now.

“No, Wondy!” Flash cried, grabbing her hand. “J’onn has to remove that. He’ll be right here in just a minute. Shay went to go get him for you.”

Diana grimaced, her forehead creasing with annoyance as she tried to break free from Wally’s hold on her wrist, but she was still too weak to put up much of a real fight. He pinned one hand down only to find the other one coming towards his head.

At that moment, Bruce was trying to pull his IV out, forcing Wally to race back over to him to stop him before he pulled out the tubing that was delivering the much needed medicine that was saving their lives. “Bad, Bruce…bad, bad, Bruce,” Wally scolded him as if he was a child, growing more and more frazzled by the second. “Where’s J’onn? I’m not a nurse!”

Flash glanced over his shoulder at Diana was in the process of attempting to sit up. “Wondy! Behave yourself!” he yelled at her. “It’s like babysitting children in here!”

“Flash, don’t let Diana pull that breathing tube out,” J’onn sternly ordered him as he entered the room in his hazmat suit, pausing to gather the necessary supplies he was going to need to help his waking patients.

“I’m trying, but Bats here won’t cooperate either,” Flash snapped in agitation. “He’s trying to pull off wires, and IV’s, and breathing masks.”

“Diana,” Bruce mumbled her name, causing Wally to look down at him.

“I’m definitely not Wondy,” Wally adamantly declared. “You try to kiss me and I’ll slug you regardless of how close to death you were.”

Bruce growled low in his throat, his eyes barely open. “How…how’s Diana?” he rasped.

“Oh, she’s just trying to pull out her own breathing tube and get out of bed,” Flash informed him. “J’onn’s taking her off the breathing machine right now.”

Bruce seemed to visibly relax with the news. “Wa…water.”

“Sure thing, buddy,” Flash told him, patting his shoulder. “You just rest right here and I’ll be back in a flash.”

Wally stood to his feet only to stop and laugh. “Hey, that was really funny. I’ll be back in a flash…get it?”

“Wally!” Bruce growled, quickly losing patience.

“Oh, right,” he muttered before taking off in a blur of red.

Flash returned within a couple of seconds, glass of water in hand. He helped Bruce sit up as he removed the breathing mask. “You two had us scared out of our wits. We thought you guys were goners for sure,” Wally told him.

Bruce just glared at him as he greedily drank the water, his fingers wrapped tightly around the bedrail as Wally helped support him. He had never felt so weak in his entire life. Just the effort it took to try and sit up left him totally wiped out and breathing hard.

Handing Wally the glass back, Bruce glanced over at Diana. He released a sigh of relief that she was finally off the breathing machine. He could tell that she was struggling to come around, annoyed with J’onn who was fussing with putting a breathing mask on which Diana obviously wasn’t interested in wearing again.

Collapsing back against his pillows, Bruce smiled to himself, more than happy to see his feisty Diana struggling to come back to him. Memories of the last kiss they had shared assaulted him, warming him with anticipation of things to come with her and, at the same time, awakening his irrational fears all over again.

“Diana, you must keep the mask on,” J’onn firmly told her as she turned her head away from him. “Your oxygen levels are still very low.”

Diana frowned as she finally opened her eyes, though just barely. She was clearly contemplating whether or not she should be a compliant patient, a measure of confusion still clouding her mind. She turned to look at Bruce through her bedrail, her face visibly relaxing as he looked back at her.

He smiled softly as he stared at her, wanting more than anything to touch her, to hold her. She watched him as J’onn slipped the breathing mask over her face. It was as if she couldn’t tear her gaze away from him, just being able to see him again soothing her beleaguered heart and mind. Never taking her eyes off him, she rolled onto her side to face him, but exhaustion won out within moments as her eyes fell closed once more.

 _“Soon, Princess…soon,”_ Bruce thought to himself as he quickly succumbed to unconsciousness as well.

“I’m going to go tell everyone the good news,” Flash excitedly announced as he raced from the room.

Looking from Diana to Bruce, J’onn could hardly contain the surge of relief and happiness that consumed him. His friends were finally making progress, taking a turn for the better for once instead of the worse.

Things were finally beginning to look up for them.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

**_Watchtower Isolation; June 25th, 11:53 EST_ **

Diana sat up in her bed feeling better than she had in days and yet her heart was still heavy with worry. She glanced over at Bruce was still unconscious, more than anxious to have him open his eyes again. He had regained conscious for brief periods of time throughout the day, barely opening his eyes, but it had never lasted long and just attempting to speak had been exhausting for him.

She hoped the next time that he woke; he’d be able to stay awake longer. She longed to talk to him, to see if the kiss they had shared and his confession had been real or just a wonderful dream. She had come to realize since waking this morning that several of the things that she had believed had been real had been nothing more than a hallucination. 

Her mother, Phillipus, Aphrodite—they had all just been illusions created by the virus and the fever that had ravaged her. But Bruce…it had felt so very real to her.

She swore she could still hear the emotion behind his words, feel the gentleness of his lips against her face as well as the barely-restrained passion that he’d kept firmly leashed behind his kisses. Had it all just been an illusion that she had created, her dreams bleeding through into her fevered hallucinations?

What if he didn’t really feel the way that she had imagined? The thought was too painful to dwell on as she picked at her food with the prongs of her fork. Although she was physically starting to feel better, she didn’t feel like eating anything, especially with Bruce still not out of the woods yet. 

Besides, the endless stream of questions and doubts rolling around in her mind wouldn’t allow her to eat even though Wally had brought her some of her favorite foods. She missed her mother greatly. After believing that she had seen her in that hallucination, she found herself feeling lonelier than she had in quite some time. It was almost as if she was reliving her banishment all over again, the wounds from that moment torn open and raw.

Diana decided that once she was out of isolation, she would contact her mother. If she couldn’t go to Themyscira, then maybe her mother would be willing to meet her somewhere like Greece. After everything that had happened recently and the uncertainty swirling around her and Bruce, she felt the need to get away for a little while, to sort things out in her head.

She knew what she felt her heart for Bruce, what she wanted more than anything, but she had to be prepared for the reality that Bruce might not share those same feelings. While trying to remain hopeful, she also needed to be practical. The chance that Bruce’s confession had all been a fantasy was far too great to ignore. She wanted to believe that Bruce had changed his mind about them, but she wouldn’t know for certain until they’d had a chance to talk about it.

Glancing at him now, she feared that might never happen.

He still looked pretty sick, but his fever had thankfully broken. Now, it was just a matter of time and praying that he still had the fight in him to come back from all that he’d been through.

She turned her attention back to her lunch, lost in her troubled thoughts as J’onn entered isolation dressed in his hazmat suite. She smiled at him as he approached her, but her smile was strained and never reached her blue eyes that undoubtedly revealed her true feelings at that moment.

Her head still pounded and she was exhausted, but she was definitely feeling better than she had been. “Hi, J’onn.”

“How are you feeling, Diana?” he asked, noticing her barely touched plate of food.

“Better,” she replied. “Just feeling really weak and kind of out of it. I’m sure we’ve missed quite a lot since we were isolated.”

“It’s going to take time for the both of you to regain your strength again,” he warned her, the strain and worry of the last few days evident in his face. 

Diana took his gloved hand in hers, squeezing it affectionately. “I know that we gave you all quite a scare,” she gently acknowledged. “I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for us this last week, J’onn. You saved our lives.”

“It was actually Sinestro who saved you by giving us the antidote, but I’m just happy that you will both recover from this.”

She glanced at a still unconscious Bruce, her worry more than evident on her face. “I wish he’d wake up,” she confessed. “I hate seeing him like this. It’s unnerving to see him so sick. He’s just always been there with us, larger than life and in control.”

J’onn could feel her fear and bewilderment without even using his telepathic gift. It was rolling off her in waves and causing his heart to hurt for her with the intensity of it. She and Bruce had been through so much recently, more than their fair share.

“He will, Diana,” he reassured her. “He doesn’t have your advanced healing abilities so it’s going to take him a little longer to come around, but he will come through this.”

“So much of what happened the last few days is such a blur,” she told him with an uncertain shake of her head. “I don’t know how much of it was real and how much was just a fever-induced illusion.”

“I’m sure all of it has been very disconcerting for you,” he sympathized. “The fever and the virus played with your minds. I’m afraid Bruce had his fair share of hallucinated visitors while you were on life support.”

“Who did he see?” she asked, concerned.

“His parents, Bane, the Joker,” he informed her. “It was difficult to witness him going through that.”

“It just seemed so real,” she softly murmured, lost in the memories of his voice, his kisses, his admission of love.

“You’ll need to talk to Bruce about whatever it is you are uncertain of,” J’onn recommended, sensing the source of her confusion. “I do have some good news to report, though. You can finally have your cast removed today.”

Diana’s expression brightened somewhat with the news. “Really?”

“Your meta healing is no longer suppressed by the virus,” he confirmed. “I believe your leg has healed enough now that I can safely remove your cast and allow your advanced healing take care of the rest.”

“I’m so ready to be rid of it,” she replied. “I can’t wait to take a bath like a real person for once.”

J’onn lifted his hands and began to remove his hazmat helmet, causing Diana to reach for his arms to try to stop him. “You and Bruce are no longer contagious,” he revealed with a small smile.

“Are you sure?” she asked, staring at him in stunned.

“I personally ran the blood tests on both of you three times,” he confirmed. “The virus is gone. Now, you just need time to recover from your prolonged illness.”

“So how soon can we leave isolation now that we’re no longer contagious?”

“You can leave for short periods of time, but I want you to stay here and rest so I can continue to monitor your recovery,” he told her. “You and Bruce went through a very traumatic experience that severely drained your bodies. You nearly died, Diana. It’s going to take time to regain your strength.”

“Can I return to duty soon?”

“As long as you continue to improve, you could be cleared for reserved duty on the Watchtower in a couple of days and full duty in less than a week,” he replied. “You must not push yourself too hard, though. I do not wish to see either of you back in the infirmary any time soon.”

“Good luck trying to keep Bruce down,” she told him with a hint of a smile. “He’s already been stuck here in isolation with me for over a week. He’s going to be more than desperate to get out of here and back to Gotham as soon as he’s able to stand upright without passing out.”

The corner of J’onn’s mouth curved slightly. “He hasn’t been quite as miserable here as you might have been led to believe.”

Diana’s brow furrowed with his unexpected response. “What are you talking about? He’s been next to impossible to deal with in here. I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to tunnel his way out of isolation.”

J’onn only smiled as he turned to leave, a knowing look in his eyes. “I’ll be back with the equipment to remove your cast in a little bit. Try to eat something in the meantime.”

She gave him a puzzled glance as he walked away, wondering what in Hera he was talking about. She pushed her bedside table away before sinking back against her pillows, not really interested in eating as fatigue began to reclaim her again, thoughts of Bruce still swirling in her head along with J’onn words.

**_Isolation; June 25th, 14:03 EST_ **

Bruce fought against the thick cloud of confusion and exhaustion that gripped him. He couldn’t quite remember everything that had happened that brought him to this point, but he knew it hadn’t been good and that he needed to wake up.

He felt an icy sense of desperation rising up from somewhere deep within him, pleading with him to get out of here…that she needed him. He attempted to lift his limbs that felt like lead, unable to open his eyelids that felt as though they were glued shut.

Panic began to grip him until a melodious sound seeped into his consciousness, soothing him and causing him to relax. It sounded like an angel singing, filling him with peace and awakening a longing in his soul that he’d been fighting against for far too long.

He finally managed to open his eyes, wondering where the beautiful song was coming from. He looked about to find himself all alone in isolation. Alone. He shouldn’t be alone. She should be here with him. Why wasn’t she here with him? The thought nearly made him sit bold upright in bed when he noticed that Diana wasn’t there, her bed freshly made as if she had left him forever.

A fresh wave of panic crashed over him, terrified that he had lost her. He managed to sit up with a low groan that the effort created, more than a little perturbed that his body wasn’t obeying immediately on command like he was accustomed to. He felt bone weary, as weak as a child, and it annoyed him to no end.

He tried to calm his racing heart as he paid attention to where the singing was coming from, doing his best to make his mind focus. The sound of water running soon joined the song, attempting to drown the beautiful sound out.

Bruce suddenly realized it was coming from the bathroom. Diana was in the bathtub. Relief washed over him with the realization, knowing that she was all right, but he wouldn’t feel completely at ease until he had actually seen her with his own eyes…touched her.

Clark entered at that moment, a wide grin on his face. “Leave it to you to manage to come back from the brink of death once again,” he told Bruce. “I swear you have more lives than a cat.”

“I take it we’re no longer contagious since you’re not suited up,” he said, leaning back in his bed with a heavy sigh. The exertion it took him to sit up had drained him. He watched as the Man of Steel settled into the chair beside his bed. The grin on his friend’s face was starting to unnerve him. “What’s with you? You look like you want to hug me.”

“Thinking about,” Clark admitted with a warm chuckle. “You have no idea how much you scared the life out of us. We honestly thought we were going to lose the both of you.”

“Try to hug me and you’ll find out what Kryptonite down your throat feels like,” Bruce threatened him.

“There’s the Bruce we all know and love so much,” Clark said, a huge grin still plastered on his face. “I doubt you could stop me from hugging you. You might not be contagious anymore, but you still look like death.”

“Thanks,” Bruce bit out with a scowl. “I feel like it too.”

The sound of Diana’s singing to herself in the bathtub floated through the door, filling the isolation room with the beautiful music. Clark turned to look towards the bathroom, his smile broadening even more it if was actually possible.

“It sounds like Diana is feeling better,” he commented, affection lacing his voice much to Bruce’s annoyance. “J’onn told me that her cast came off today.”

“It’s about time,” he grumbled.

Despite being happy to hear the good news, he was feeling more than a little conflicted. Thoughts of kissing her and telling her how much he loved her began to do battle with the voice in his head that was telling him had made a huge mistake.

“I know that look,” Clark stated with a groan, his smile rapidly fading. “What’s going on inside that head of yours?”

Bruce scowled darkly at him, looking away from him. “Nothing,” he spat out.

“Right,” Clark replied with a frown. “You told her you loved her and now you’re regretting it and trying to think of a way out of it.”

Bruce’s head snapped back to glare angrily at Clark, a sneer on his lips. “How do you know?” he demanded.

“Dick told me you admitted it to him,” he confessed. “Even if he hadn’t, I know you, Bruce. You always second guess yourself when it comes to your heart.”

“Just because I told her that I love her doesn’t mean that I should pursue a relationship with her,” he stubbornly countered.

“Why not?” Clark nearly yelled in exasperation, throwing his hands up in the air. “She nearly died, Bruce. In fact, she did die until J’onn was able to bring her back. If that doesn’t open your eyes, then I have no idea what will.”

“She wouldn’t have been here in the first place if it hadn’t been for me,” Bruce hissed.

“Get over it,” Clark stated, his anger with him punctuating every word. “If it hadn’t happened with you, it still could’ve happened with anyone of us. It’s what we do, Bruce…what we’ve all committed our lives to do.

“You know what? If you want to die a miserable, bitter old man, then I’m not going to stand in your way or waste any more of my breath trying to convince you to give her a chance.”

Bruce glared back at Clark, his expression softening minutely much to the Kryptonian’s surprise. “I want her in my life more than I’ve ever wanted anything, save for my parents,” he softly said. “I just don’t understand how someone so perfect in every way imaginable would want someone so broken and damaged as me.

“She could have her pick of millions of men and yet she chose me. It makes absolutely not sense, Clark. I don’t deserve her.”

“No, you don’t…and I don’t deserve Lois,” Clark told him, his tone losing a measure of the heat that it had just carried. “That doesn’t negate the fact that we still love them or that we’ll do anything in this world for them.”

“I feel like I’m damned either way—I can’t live without her in my life and yet I’m terrified of letting her in,” he confessed. “I have to protect her from me as well as my enemies and the only way to do that is to let her go.”

“Do you honestly believe that keeping Diana at arms’ length is going to keep her from ever getting hurt again?” Clark asked, unconvinced. “You know Diana as well as I do, Bruce. She’s fearless. Nothing is going to keep her from throwing herself into the heart of a battle no matter what it is or who she’s going up against. 

“We both know she’s going to end up back in this infirmary again whether you decide to let her into your life or not, so why not let yourself love her and enjoy the time you can have together? It’s far better than being miserable and alone and in love.”

“I know it…in here,” Bruce replied, tapping his chest right above his heart. “It’s trying to get past what’s in my head.”

“Well, you and Diana are the two most stubborn people I have ever met so I sincerely doubt that she’ll let you get lost in your head for too long,” he told him.

Bruce turned his attention away from his friend as the door opened, suddenly finding himself rendered speechless by the sight of the Amazon princess as she exited the bathroom. She was wearing a black tank top and shorts, using a towel to dry her hair. Although still pale and quite thin, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

Clark immediately got up and went to her, enveloping her in a bear hug that lifted her off her feet. “You have no idea how relieved I am that you’re okay now,” he told her, burying his face in her wet hair.

“It’s good to see you too, Kal,” she replied, stunned to find herself in Superman’s arms. She peered over Kal’s shoulder to look at Bruce who was glaring at them.

“She’s still recovering, Kent,” Bruce growled, jealous to see Clark holding her in his arms. “Try not to crush her.”

“Sorry,” Clark meekly murmured, setting her back down on the floor again. “It’s just so good to see you up. You scared us half to death, Di.”

“I’m sorry, Kal,” she apologized, her hand coming to rest affectionately on his forearm.

“It’s not your fault,” he quickly countered. “The important thing is that you and Bruce are going to be all right and we have the antidote to stop this contagion.”

“Any idea on Ra’s whereabouts?” Bruce asked, his mind already working on getting out of here and going after the man who was behind this.

Diana fought back the excitement at seeing that Bruce had finally woken while at the same time trying to rein-in her disappointment that he was already focused on Ra’s al Ghul. She knew that finding him and keeping anymore people from becoming infected was their top priority now, but it meant that she and Bruce were going to have to wait. The questions and worries that constantly swirled in her mind would not be answered any time soon.

“No idea,” Clark grimly admitted with a frustrated sigh. “We have searched everywhere we can think of. Every country has been notified of the situation and has been put on alert. If anyone sees him, they’re to contact the Justice League immediately.”

“I’m trying to talk J’onn into clearing me for duty, but he’s dragging his feet on it,” she told them, clearly unhappy about it.

Both men turned heated glares at her, equally annoyed with her insistence to return to duty already. Even though Bruce was already secretly plotting his escape from the infirmary now that he was no longer contagious, there was no way he was going to let Diana leave at least for another few days.

“You’re not going anywhere, Princess,” Bruce snapped. “You were on life support in order to keep you alive. You need time to recover and heal.”

Diana stubbornly folded her arms against her chest, a scowl swiftly forming. “I’m fine,” she claimed.

“Have you looked in a mirror lately?” he asked.

She tilted her head in stunned disbelief at what he had just said, her anger growing hotter by the moment. “What in Hera is that supposed to mean?”

“You’re skin and bones, Princess,” he told her with equal obstinacy. Although still beautiful, she looked so very frail, so unlike the warrior he had come to love. It scared him to see her like this. It only reminded him of how close he’d come to losing her. “You’re in no shape to be allowed on duty yet even if you are a meta.”

“Thanks, Bruce,” she angrily spat out. “You certainly know how to make a person feel beautiful. I’ll have you know that I feel perfectly fine. If you don’t believe me, then I’d be more than happy to give you a demonstration. I’ll take you down right here.”

“You are nowhere near ready to return to duty,” Bruce insisted, attempting to sit up on the edge of his bed.

“Oh, and I suppose you are?” she demanded to know, her blue eyes narrowing dangeriously. “I’m surprised you haven’t tried to tunnel your way out of here with a spoon by now just to get out of here.”

“Don’t think I haven’t considered it,” he stated with equal anger. “You need more time to recover, Princess. You were dead at one point until J’onn was able to bring you back.”

“It’s just going to take some time for both of you to regain your strength,” Clark intervened, attempting to diffuse the situation before it got to the boiling point.

“You were delirious…having hallucinations,” Bruce continued to rant, ignoring the Man of Steel.

“Was everything that happened here just a hallucination?” she pointedly asked.

Bruce clenched his jaw, averting his eyes under her scrutinizing gaze. “Nothing happened, Princess.”

“Well, since I look so bad and nothing obviously happened in here, then I guess I’ll just recover in my quarters so you won’t have to look at me,” she snapped, throwing her towel directly at Bruce’s face.

With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out, rushing past a confused J’onn who was coming in to check on Bruce now that he was finally awake. The Martian Manhunter looked back over his shoulder at Diana before turning his attention to the pair in front of him.

“Diana!” Bruce yelled, attempting to get out of bed to go after her and bring her back.

Clark was standing there, rubbing his forehead in obvious frustration. “Way to go, Bruce.”

“What is wrong with Diana? Why did she leave?” J’onn asked, confused.

“Oh, Bruce is just being Bruce,” Clark said, turning a blue-eyed glare at his friend. “You need to fix this…now.”

Bruce glowered at him, angry with himself for upsetting her and driving her away once more. He’d only been worried about her, more than a little afraid of her being on duty already and not back at full strength yet. There’s no way that she’d be able to defend herself right now in a battle.

“I’m afraid you are not going anywhere,” J’onn informed Bruce, breathing treatment in hand.

“She got to leave,” Bruce grumbled as he stood to his feet.

“Diana’s advanced healing has allowed her recovery to progress more quickly than yours,” J’onn told him. “She is not yet at her typical full strength yet, but the damage the virus caused to her lungs has already begun to repair itself. I’m afraid you, on the other hand, will need to stay here for a few more days and undergo breathing treatments until your lung function has improved.”

“I can’t stay here…not while Ra’s is out there,” Bruce growled, beginning to breathe hard with the exertion of standing.

“Bruce, you can hardly stand without being short of breath,” Clark pointed out. “You’re in no shape to go up against Ra’s. If you have any more ideas about where he could be, then tell me and I’ll go after him.”

Bruce sank down on the edge of the bed, his fingers curling around the towel that Diana had thrown at him. He physically ached to see her, to tell her he hadn’t meant the way that he had sounded. She could never look terrible to him.

“Do you want me to go talk to her?” Clark offered, sensing Bruce’s regret.

“No, I need to do it,” he said, rubbing his face with his hands as he fought to catch his breath.

“I have to go to a meeting with the United Nations to let them know we have a cure for this virus now,” Clark told him. “I’ll be back later to check on you later. In the meantime, don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

Bruce only nodded as Clark left and J’onn began to set up his breathing treatment. He needed to get out of here and stop Ra’s. After that, he had to decide what he was going to do about Diana and the confession that he had made to her.

**_Cairo, Egypt; June 25th, 20:32 EET_ **

Talia stood with her hands on her hips and a deep frown on her red lips, her expression determined yet thoughtful. A single eyebrow was raised in skepticism as she stared at the container they were putting the finishing touches on, her mind churning over the new plan. 

Ra’s slowly walked around it, his hands clasped behind his back and a smug smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He paused to glance at his daughter, noticing the hesitancy in her expression. “Do you not approve of the change in plans, daughter?” he asked.

She tilted her head to the side before shaking it in response. “No, I approve, but I believe we need to disguise it a little better,” she ultimately decided.

Ra’s frowned as he turned his attention back to the black container before them. “In what way?”

“I’m just concerned they’re going to know it’s not one of their usual containers,” she explained. “We have to make sure that it passes inspection or they’ll immediately move it to containment.”

Ra’s smirked with her comment, proud that his daughter seemed to be fully vested in their mission for once instead of mooning over the detective who was no doubt dead by now or about to die. He couldn’t help wondering how the Amazon was fairing with her meta abilities against the contagion. He would have liked to have seen the effects on them firsthand.

“I think one of us should accompany the shipment to make sure it arrives and is fully accepted,” Talia suggested.

“You mean take the place of the usual delivery team?” 

“Yes,” she agreed with a nod. “That way we can guarantee that it won’t be sent to containment or jettisoned into outer space.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Ubu agreed, rubbing his chin. “We could also find out how our first two victims are doing as well as scout the area for any useful information that could be used later.”

“They are more than likely dead by now, but let me consider it,” Ra’s decided. “Just continue as planned for now. I will tell you my decision before we leave. I suppose you are the one to go, Talia?”

Talia averted her eyes under his scrutinizing stare that seemed to peel back layers of flesh and sinew in order to see into her very soul. She drew a fortifying breath before finally meeting her father’s steely gaze. She squared her shoulders as she turned to fully face him, lifting her chin with absolute resolve.

“I admit that I would like to know the fate of my beloved, but I do feel that personally ensuring the arrival of the device is tantamount to our ultimate success in destroying the Justice League before they can stop our mission,” she responded.

Ra’s closed the distance between them, his arms encircling his daughter as he drew her close to him. “I know, my dear, but we have to assume the worst right now. It’s been over seven days since exposure. They are either dead or nearly.”

“I know, father,” she murmured, her voice muffled against his chest, her fingers curling into his robe. “I just…I have to know his fate.”

“I understand, Talia,” he replied, bending to place a kiss to the top of her head. “You may accompany the container to the Justice League, but know that if you are captured, I cannot come to your rescue. My main focus must remain on my mission. You will run the risk of becoming exposed to the virus as well if you are taken prisoner on the Watchtower.”

“I understand, father,” she solemnly confirmed as she pulled back to look into his face. “I will not be captured. I will return as soon as I learn of my beloved’s condition and that of the Amazon’s.”

“Very well,” Ra’s agreed with a reluctant sigh of acceptance. Her heart had always belonged to the detective. Even time hadn’t been able to diminish it in the least. “Just promise you’ll be careful.”

“Thank you, father,” she softly said before pulling free. “I promise I won’t let you down.”

“You’re a good girl, Talia,” he told her. “I know that it was very hard for you when the detective chose Gotham over you, but I promise you’ll be rewarded for your faithfulness to me.”

“It will be glorious when your dream is finally realized.”

“Yes, it will be,” he agreed with a nod of his head. “I’m just so happy that you’ll be by my side when it happens.”

“I love you, father,” she confessed, hugging him briefly before releasing him. “I’m going to go prepare to leave.”

Ra’s watched as his daughter began to walk away, his dark gaze narrowing as his lips thinned into a grim line. He turned to Ubu standing silently at his side, pulling him in close. “I want you to go with her,” he ordered him. “She’s going to try to get the antidote to the detective, but I don’t want you to let her anywhere near him. Things are going according to plan and I won’t let her ruin it. This is the way things are supposed to be.”

“I’ll make sure she returns safely,” Ubu swore to him.

“If she does, then so be it. If not, then it is her own fault,” Ra’s murmured. “Gather any information that you can and bring it back to me. Anything that I can ultimately use to stop the Justice League from interfering in my plans will be most useful.”

Exiting the room, Talia couldn’t help but smile to herself as she quickly made her way to her room, more than anxious to see her beloved again. If everything went according to her plan, she and Bruce would be reunited and the Amazon would be dead and out of her way forever.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

**_Watchtower; June 26th, 01:31 EST_ **

Shayera entered her quarters with a weary sigh, running her fingers back through her long hair. She made her way to the view port of her suite, rapidly losing herself in her thoughts. She absentmindedly rubbed her arms, wishing that John would come back soon. She didn’t like the idea of him going alone to take Sinestro back to Oa to be tried, but he had refused to let her go with him.

She was more than relieved with the progress that Bruce and Diana had been making, though. She had been afraid that Sinestro’s antidote was nothing more than a trick, getting their hopes up that this was the actual cure only to find that it wasn’t.

She didn’t think that she could have handled that. Her nerves were shot as it was with everything that had been happening. They’d come far too close to losing both of them forever. Now, though, Diana was in her quarters furious with Bruce while he was in the infirmary undergoing more breathing treatments. Things were getting back to normal again around here.

She’d gone to check on Diana a little bit ago to find her still more than a little upset with the Gotham vigilante. Diana was quite bewildered about something that had happened in isolation with Bruce, but had refused to talk about it, leaving Shayera to wonder what was really going on between her two friends.

Something had obviously happened that had left Diana feeling more than a little confused and angry. She just wished that she would have opened up to her about it. Hopefully, once she’d had time to cool off, she’d be more willing to talk. Better yet, Bruce needed to talk to her and apologize for whatever asinine thing he had said or done.

Hearing her door swish open, Shayera knew it was him without even having to turn around. She was more than a little relieved that he was finally home, feeling even better when she felt his strong arms slip around her waist from behind.

“You know I love your feathers, but it’s a little difficult to hold the woman I love like this,” he softly said as he leaned past her wing to kiss her shoulder.

Shayera turned around to face him, her lips greeting his in a heated kiss that took his breath away. “Wow,” he muttered, taken aback by the intensity of her kiss, but no less thrilled. “You must have really missed me.”

“I did,” she confessed, kissing him again.

John groaned as she nibbled on his ear, rapidly losing the ability to think straight. “How…how are Bruce and Diana?”

“Physically—better,” she murmured as she teased his earlobe with her teeth and tongue.

“Ut-oh,” he groaned, reluctantly pulling back to look her in the eye. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Bruce upset Diana and now she is recovering in her quarters while Bruce is forced to stay in the infirmary because J’onn hasn’t cleared him to leave yet.”

“Maybe I should go see Bruce and find out what’s going on,” John thoughtfully replied.

“I doubt you’ll get much information out of him,” she told him. “Bruce doesn’t talk even on a good day. Besides, Diana’s not even talking about what happened so I doubt you’ll get anywhere.”

“Probably best to just let them both cool off some,” he decided. “Maybe things will be better tomorrow.”

“I don’t know,” Shayera said, her tone cautious. “Diana’s pretty mad.”

“They’re the two most stubborn people I’ve ever met next to you,” he replied with a grin.

“You don’t seem to mind it,” she pointed out with a mock glare.

“No, I never said I minded,” he agreed. “I love your fiery spirit. In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing it right about now.”

“Hmmm…I don’t know if I’m really feeling in the mood now,” she coyly teased as she began to pull out of his embrace. “I really should check in on Diana again.”

John quickly grabbed hold of her, drawing her in firmly against his chest. A low growl escaped his lips as he leaned in and kissed her hard. Shayera swiftly melted into the kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck as she deepened the kiss.

She began to back him up towards the bed, more than anxious to get him out of his uniform. Now that she knew that her friends were going to be all right, she was more than ready to spend some much needed alone time with him.

As John began to remove her uniform, she couldn’t help wondering what Bruce had done this time to upset Diana. She decided a little visit with Bruce was definitely in order in the morning, a visit that included her mace. 

Right now, though, all she could focus on was John and the way his mouth was beginning to drive her absolutely crazy.

**_Watchtower Infirmary; June 26th, 12:23 EST_ **

Sitting up in his hospital bed, Bruce typed furiously on his laptop, his glare practically burning holes through his computer screen. He was more than livid that Ra’s was still out there somewhere, planning attacks with his deadly contagion.

Even though they now had a cure, it didn’t mean that Ra’s still couldn’t cause mass hysteria, bringing harm to countless millions. Just because they had a cure also didn’t mean that it would necessarily save everyone who was infected.

They needed to be able to mass produce the antidote and that was still not possible as of yet. While J’onn was working with the CDC on doing just that, it would take time…months even to create enough for everyone. By then, millions could be dead.

He needed to get out of here and find Ra’s before it was too late. Normally, he would have just left by now regardless if J’onn had cleared him or not. The problem was his lung function wouldn’t let him get very far for very long before he was forced back in bed with another breathing treatment and a breathing mask.

Glancing to the empty bed to his right, Bruce felt his anger grow even hotter. He was the reason that Diana was no longer in the infirmary with him, the reason that she was furious with him and recovering in her quarters now instead of here with him.

Instead of confirming his feelings for her, he had hurt her, pushing her away like he always did. He needed to talk to her, but he couldn’t focus on that right now. He needed to focus on finding Ra’s before it was too late.

Once again, Diana would have to wait.

He clenched his jaw tightly, his every muscle tense with anger as well as regret. Hurting her was the last thing that he had wanted to do, but maybe it was for the best. It had been easy to tell her that he loved her when they were both dying with little hope of being saved.

Now that they were both going to be all right, he found himself questioning everything all over again, rethinking the logic of what he had done. By letting her in, he was subjecting her to far more danger than she normally would be in without him in her life.

Was he willing to sacrifice her safety just for a chance at a relationship with her that might not even work? Willing to lose her friendship or even her presence in his life over a love affair that could only end up breaking both of their hearts?

Hearing the door slide open, Bruce didn’t even bother looking up as Shayera entered his room, continuing to study all the evidence in hopes of figuring out where Ra’s was hiding. He had a feeling he knew why she was here, but he was definitely not in the mood to talk about it, especially with her.

“Don’t even bother, Shayera,” he bit out. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“That’s good because I’m here to do all the talking so all you need to do is listen,” she flatly stated, folding her arms against her chest as she stared at him.

He glared at her over the top of his laptop screen before returning to his typing. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Well, you’re going to make time,” she told him. “I’ve had about enough of you hurting Diana. You need to make a decision, Bruce. You can’t keep leading her on like this.”

“Fine,” he spat out. “I chose my mission.”

Shayera sneered at him, storming over to him and slamming his laptop closed. “You are the biggest fool I have ever met in my entire life. There is an amazing woman who, for some reason that I can’t even begin to fathom, has chosen you, Bruce Wayne. She has fallen in love with _you_ , you idiot.

“And what do you do about it? You repeatedly push her away; crush her spirit at every turn. You pull her in and give her false hope only to turn your back on her when she gets too close for your liking. She may be an Amazon warrior and the most powerful female in the world, but she is still a woman and she has a very big heart that you keep stomping on as if she means absolutely nothing to you.”

Bruce was near trembling with fury, his hands clenched tightly into fists. Every word was like a sledgehammer to his chest, taking his breath and crushing his heart. He knew it was all true, but hearing it out loud only made it that much more devastating.

“Are you done?” he ground out, fuming.

“Not quite,” she continued, her cheeks tinged pink with anger. “I know you love her, Bruce, but what I can’t understand is why you refuse to let her in. She could’ve had her pick of millions of men and yet she chose you. I know you have issues, but you know what? We all have issues so you better get off your butt and do something about it before you lose the best thing that has ever come into your life.”

Bruce glowered darkly at her with all the anger and self-loathing that he’d been harboring, the guilt of hurting the woman that he loved most. He knew he needed to find Diana and tell her the truth, but it was easier to bury himself in his mission than it was to let her in. Facing the Joker was far easier for him then facing the woman that he loved.

“Don’t you think that I ask myself that very same question every single day?” he spat out. “I have no idea why she fell in love with me when there are so many men out there that are far more deserving of her than I am. I hate myself for loving her only to end up hurting her every time. That’s why it’s best if I just let her go.”

Shayera was stunned by his admission, but refused to give up now. “I don’t know what happened between you yesterday and I don’t care as long as you fix it...now.”

“Don’t you think I want to?” he nearly yelled. “I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with her, but it’s too dangerous. Look at what happened to her, Shayera. Because of me, she nearly died. I could never live with myself if she lost her life because of me.”

Shayera slowly made her way to his bed, sitting down on the edge of it beside him. “Bruce, when I betrayed the League…betrayed John…it was the most painful thing I had ever experienced in my entire life. Losing him and my friends nearly destroyed me, but I was blessed with a second chance.

“You all forgave me and gave me the opportunity to prove myself once again. John and I have been given a second chance at love and because of that I’ve never been happier. He didn’t have to let me in or trust me again, but he did.

“You two almost died and you would have lost your chance with her, Bruce. Don’t let your second chance at happiness with the woman you love slip through your fingers. You need to trust yourself as well as Diana that you will find a way to make it work together regardless of the dangers and risks.

I know it’s not easy, but Diana could die tomorrow whether you’re together or not. It’s the nature of what we do. Wouldn’t it be far better to share your life with the woman you love then to never have her in your life at all?”

Bruce drew a deep breath, ignoring the burning in his lungs. He knew in his heart that Shayera was right. He couldn’t afford to lose her again. “Where is she?” he softly asked.

“She’s in the cargo bay doing inventory on incoming supplies,” she informed him.

Bruce scowled darkly as he pushed his bedside table aside. “Who let her return to duty?” he demanded to know, his anger more than evident.

“No one lets Diana do anything,” she muttered with a roll of her eyes. “Diana does what she wants to do regardless of what anyone tells her.”

“Damn stubborn Amazon,” he grumbled as he moved to sit on the other side of the bed before standing up.

“Should you be up?” she asked, suddenly concerned about him.

“Now you ask after coming in here and tearing me apart and demanding I do something about Diana?”

“Good point,” she murmured as she stood to her feet as well. “Well, you definitely can’t go down to the cargo bay dressed in shorts and a t-shirt even if they are black.”

“Find me a uniform,” he ground out.

Shayera smirked at him as she made her way to the closet, opening it up to find a new uniform in there waiting for him. “What am I…your maid?” she questioned him as she handed it over to him.

He glared daggers at her as he jerked the medical curtain closed so he could change in private. “How is she?” he softly asked.

“She’s pretty upset,” Shayera admitted. “She won’t even talk about what happened between the two of you yesterday.”

“Is she feeling all right?”

“She still looks like she might break in two if you accidently bump into her, but, other than that, I think so,” she thoughtfully replied. “She’s definitely not at full strength yet. J’onn said her meta abilities were suppressed so long that it’ll take a few days to fully return.”

She smiled to herself as Bruce cursed under his breath about Amazon princesses and something else she couldn’t quite make out. She was more than relieved that her lecture had turned out as well as it had or she would’ve been forced to use her mace to drive home her point.

The curtain abruptly pulled back, revealing Batman sans cowl which was in his gauntleted hand. “Tell J’onn I’ll be back in a little bit…if he’s lucky.”

Shayera frowned at him. “Are you sure you’re up to leaving here? You don’t look so hot.”

“Thanks,” he bit out in annoyance. “I’ll be better once I’ve talked to Diana.”

**_Watchtower Cargo Bay; June 26th, 13:06 EST_ **

Diana’s brow furrowed as she studied the tablet in her hand, wondering how inventory had gotten so backed logged over the last week that she had spent in isolation. Of course, with two founders out of commission and the string of devices they’d been forced to track down all over the world, things had been considerably busier than usual.

On top of that, a small delegation of Justice League members had been sent on a diplomatic mission to help ease tensions between two warring colonies on a planet. Hopefully, they would be returning sooner rather than later, especially if Ra’s was planning something big.

She was actually grateful for the extra work. It kept her mind off Bruce and the overwhelming urge to pound him into dust. She had slept little last night, tossing and turning and unable to shut her mind off as she replayed everything that had happened in isolation over the last week over and over again.

She’d given up trying to make any sense of it early this morning, sneaking out of her quarters and hiding in the training room only to be found by Kal who had basically ripped her apart for pushing herself in a training program when she was still supposed to be recovering.

She had grudgingly returned to her quarters only to take a shower and dress in her uniform before sneaking back out to find work to do. She was more than determined to avoid the infirmary at all cost and especially J’onn. If he saw her on the Watchtower working, he’d force her back into the infirmary with Bruce and that was the last place she wanted to be right now.

It wasn’t that she was trying to hide from her problems or her feelings for Bruce, but she didn’t think she could be near him without wanting to smash his face in. She drew a deep breath in an effort to quell her anger, knowing that not all of it was directed at Bruce.

She was mostly mad at herself for falling so hard for him in the first place, for holding out hope that he might actually feel the same way. She silently cursed to herself, knowing deep in her heart that she was being unfair to him.

Bruce hadn’t come right out and denied that he had really kissed her or told her that he was in love with her, but he hadn’t completely confirmed it either. It was almost like he was waiting to see if she really remembered it, if she was going to push him into making a move or just let it go.

She sighed heavily, finding herself more confused now than ever before. She knew she needed to talk to him, but a part of her feared what he would actually say this time. Would he just push her away again, disappearing without a word only to show up weeks later as if nothing had happened?

Diana rubbed her forehead, silently willing the headache that clung to her to go away. Turning, she set her tablet down to move a large stack of boxes out of the way only to find that her strength hadn’t completely returned. She knew that she had pushed it as it was coming back so soon, but sitting idle just wasn’t in her nature.

Moving a few of the boxes aside at a time, she finally managed to clear a path. Looking up, she noticed a couple of crewmen coming towards her with a skid full of more containers. Straightening up, she blew a raven curl out of her face as she placed her hands on her hips, growing more frustrated with the mess by the second as well as her lack of strength and endurance.

Both of the crewmen were staring at her as they approached, the woman on the right glaring daggers at her as if she wanted to skin Diana alive. Diana brushed it off, turning to a civilian staff member. “Are there any more shipments coming in today, Andrew?” she asked him.

Andrew shook his head in response. “No, ma’am; this is the last one.”

“Thank Hera for that,” she muttered with a huff. “It’s going to take us a few days just to get through all of this.”

“Batman recently ordered some extra supplies to be delivered,” Andrew replied with a grin. “Something about needing some new equipment for his lab as well as some supplies.”

“Figures,” she grumbled. “We should make him come down here and inventory all of this himself.”

Turning towards the other shipment containers, Diana missed seeing Talia seething behind her. Talia didn’t know how, but the Amazon was alive and well. That meant that her beloved must also be alive. It caused great relief to flood her heart, but smoldering jealousy surged through her veins.

She wanted the Amazon dead and out of her way. She needed Bruce back with her where he should have been all along. She began to reach for her gun tucked snuggly in her waistband, Ubu’s hand coming to rest on her shoulder.

He looked at her with a stern warning blazing in his eyes, his hand squeezing her shoulder. He shook his head, silently telling her not to do anything. He motioned with his head for them to leave as his hand fell from her shoulder.

He began to walk away, heading back to their transport pad, glancing back over his shoulder to make sure that Talia was following him before stepping up onto the pad. Talia looked back at Diana as she talked to the Watchtower staff, her fury pushing her over the edge as she stood there staring at the Amazon who had stolen her beloved from her.

The transport began to fire up as Ubu turned around to find Talia storming back towards Diana, her arm rising with her gun gripped firmly in her hand. At that moment, Batman entered the Javelin bay, fear striking deep in his heart as sure as a blade at the sight of Talia pointing a gun directly at Diana.

“Diana!” he yelled as he swiftly drew a batarang at the same time the gun fired.

Diana turned at the sound of her name, immediately dropping to the ground as the batarang knocked the gun out of Talia’s hand. With a roar like thunder, Batman threw an electrified bola at Talia, wrapping her up and keeping her from escaping.

Talia cried out as she fell to the ground, looking up to see Ubu disappearing on the transport pad in a flash of light and leaving her behind. She looked for Bruce only to find that he was already running towards Diana instead of her. “Beloved!” she cried.

Batman raced towards Diana who was already getting up on to her feet. Her hand was pressed against her shoulder, blood seeping through her fingers and down her chest and arm as Bruce finally reached her. “Let me see it,” he softly said, reaching for her wound.

“It’s not that bad,” she tried to tell him as Superman and Green Lantern raced in, alarms blaring with the sound of gunfire.

“Princess,” he growled, taking her hand in his and holding it firmly. “We need to get you to the infirmary.”

“I just got out of there,” she snapped.

“Well…you’re going back,” he stubbornly rasped, his breathing already beginning to grow ragged. He knew that he needed to return as well, but wouldn’t admit it to anyone.

“Beloved…please!” Talia cried as Superman restrained her. “I did it for us! We deserve to be together forever!”

“I am not your beloved,” Batman seethed as he turned a dark glower on her. “Get her…out of here. I’ll deal with her later. I need to take care of Diana…right now.”

“I’m fine…really,” she tried again, unable to conceal the gasping wince that escaped.

“You have a bullet in your shoulder…and you’re bleeding all over, Diana,” he heatedly stated.

“I think we need to get you both to the infirmary,” Superman said, tapping his commlink as he and Bruce shared a knowing look, Bruce discreetly handing him something. “Steel, immediate transport to med bay for Wonder Woman and Batman.”

“Consider it done, Supes,” Steel told him.

Clark watched as his friends disappeared before his eyes, stunned by what had just happened here. Every time things seemed to be finally settling down around here, trouble always managed to rear its ugly head and in the worse way imaginable.

**_Watchtower Infirmary; June 26th, 17:16 EST_ **

Diana opened her eyes to find Bruce sitting by her bed working on his laptop, lost in his thoughts or his work. He had changed out of his uniform into a t-shirt and shorts again and was actually wearing his oxygen tubing under his nose like a good patient who was recovering from a deadly virus should be.

“Bruce,” she groggily murmured his name, lifting her arm to find she was hooked up to an IV again.

He set his laptop aside on the bedside table before turning his attention to her. “This is déjà vu, isn’t it?” he asked, his voice belying his worry. His lips were curled slightly with affection, but cold fear still lingered in his eyes as he took her left hand in his.

She stared at him for a long moment as she fought against the fog that still encompassed her mind. Even though still recovering from near death, she swore he was the most handsome man that she had ever met. “What happened after Talia?” she hoarsely asked.

“Once we returned to the infirmary, you passed out from blood loss,” he told her. “The bullet nicked an artery. J’onn had to do emergency surgery to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding, but you should be good as new in a couple of days.”

“Beloved?” she rasped with crooked smile, cocking a raven eyebrow as she looked at him in disbelief.

Bruce groaned with the reminder, his eyes falling closed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t ask.”

“Bruce, I know that you and Talia have a past together,” she revealed. “I just have one question—is it a requirement for all your girlfriends to be villains in order to date you or is it just a bizarre coincidence?”

“No, it’s just a coincidence they have wicked tendencies…not a requirement,” he claimed with a smirk.

“Good to know,” she softly murmured as she lost herself in the warm blueness of his eyes and the feel of his hand firmly holding hers. “Maybe I still have a chance then.”

“You have a very good chance,” he gently told her, his expression growing solemn. “I’m so sorry about yesterday. I didn’t mean to hurt you and push you away again.”

“It wasn’t a hallucination…was it?”

She didn’t need to elaborate for him to know exactly what she was talking about. “No,” he firmly stated, intently meeting her gaze as he shook his head. “I’m in love with you, Diana. I don’t want to live another day without you, but I…I’m scared.”

“Scared of what?” she asked, trying to sit up a little further in bed only to regret the effort.

“I’m scared of you,” he confessed with a sigh.

“Me?” she replied, stunned. “Why are you scared of me?”

“No one has ever made me feel the way that you do,” he admitted. “I want to lose control when I’m near you….want to give up everything just for you. I’m scared of letting you in only to lose you, but I’m afraid of living without you.”

Diana leaned forward, her hand coming to rest against his cheek. “Bruce, you don’t have to be afraid. I love you and I’m never going to leave you.”

Tears brimmed in his eyes against his will as he melted into the feel of her hand against his face. He took her hand from his cheek in both of his, bringing it to his lips to press a soft kiss to her knuckles. “If Talia’s bullet had been one inch—” 

A sharp gasp caused his voice to crack, leaving the painful words unspoken and hanging in the air as he pressed his forehead against hers. “Bruce, it wasn’t and I’m right here…with you. There’s no other place that I want to be than with you.”

His fingers slipped into her raven hair, leaning in close to kiss her softly as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed. He carefully laid her back against the pillows of her bed as he kissed her, wanting nothing more than to make love to her here and now, but they would have to wait until they were both fully recovered and Ra’s had been found.

Now that they had Talia, maybe he could finally get the information on Ra’s that he so desperately needed.

Pulling back, he pressed his lips to her forehead, his eyes falling closed with the way she was stirring his desire for her. “Rest,” he told her. “I’m going to see if I can get any information from Talia on Ra’s.”

“Bruce—” Diana began, not liking this one bit. The woman was a lunatic who was obviously obsessed with Bruce and would stop at nothing to get him back.

“It’ll be okay, Princess,” he attempted to reassure her as he stood to his feet. “Whatever I felt for her at one time doesn’t come close to what I feel for you.”

She smiled softly with his words as she squeezed his hand. “I was just going to say be careful. She is obviously still in love with you and wants you all to herself.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen,” he firmly replied. “My heart has belonged to someone else for a long time now.”

She watched as he picked up his uniform to change, wishing she could go with him to talk to Talia. It wasn’t that didn’t trust Bruce or his love for her. She didn’t trust Talia or the depths that she would go to get what she wanted.

**_Watchtower Detainment; June 26th, 17:56 EST_ **

Talia sat in her cell in a corner with her knees drawn up, her furious gaze fixed on the special plexi-glass shield that blocked her way to freedom. She tightly hugged her knees to her chest, her anger brewing hotly in her core along with bitter jealousy that churned inside of her like a seething volcano ready to erupt.

She still couldn’t believe how her beloved had attacked her, rushing to the Amazon’s side to help her. Had Wonder Woman somehow managed to brainwash him, corrupt his mind into believing he no longer loved her?

He had acted as if the Amazon meant everything to him while she meant absolutely nothing. He had dismissed her without even a second glance as if he was under some sort of spell, allowing that Kryptonian to drag her away and lock her up in here.

She closed her eyes to keep the tears at bay that were rising in her throat and building behind her eyes, so hot and angry and heartbroken. She refused to let them fall; refused to give her beloved the satisfaction of knowing that he had reduced her to this.

Lifting her head, she opened her eyes, gasping softly at the sight of her handsome beloved standing before her in his uniform. She quickly got up to her feet as she stared at him, her heart thumping wildly in her chest as she slowly walked towards him. She ached to touch him as she came to stand before the plexi-glass that separated them, unable to tear her eyes away from him.

“Beloved,” she murmured, the palm of her hand coming to rest against the glass.

Bruce sighed heavily as he drew back his cowl. “Talia, I’m not your beloved…haven’t been for a very long time.”

There was a sharp, dangerous edge to his voice, one that warned her that she was on very thin ice as it was without adding to it. Shooting Diana had nearly pushed him over the edge, flashing images of his parents’ murder besieging him all over again.

“You loved me once,” she commented, her anger returning with a vengeance with his refusal to admit that he still loved her. “I know you still do or you wouldn’t be here now.”

“What is your father planning to do with the virus, Talia?”

“I take it you found an antidote since you and that Amazon whore of yours are still alive,” she spat out. “If I could have, I would’ve gotten the antidote to you to save you, but you know that I can’t go against my father.”

“I remember,” he bitterly ground out. “You chose him over me.”

“You chose your precious city over me,” she sneered. “I chose a better future, one that you could have been a part of, serving at my father’s side.”

“Talia, I’m not here to rehash the past,” he bit out.

“Oh, because you’ve moved on with that Amazon wench?” Talia icily stated.

Bruce could barely control his rage as he glowered at her. “I’m not here to discuss my love life either,” he rasped with a deadly calm that warned her to back off.

“So you are in love with her,” she yelled, slamming her fist against the plexi-glass. “Have you given yourself to her yet? Told her how you love her?”

Batman took a step closer, his jaw locked with simmering fury, his gauntlets clenched tightly at his sides. “You ever go after Diana again and there will be no place on earth or hell below that you will be able to hide from me.”

Talia couldn’t help but shrink back, but it was brief as she steeled herself, using her anger to face him. She’d never give up on him or the chance for them to be together again. “What has she done to you that you would so easily turn your back on me?” she hissed. “Has she put some sort of spell on you to turn you against me like this?”

“Diana has done nothing to me apart from accepting me for who I am, Talia,” he stated. “Now, tell me where your father is.”

“Give up your precious Amazon lover and swear yourself to me. Then, I will tell you where my father is,” she bargained, folding her arms obstinately against her chest in defiance.

“She’s not my lover,” he evenly responded as the thought flickered through his mind, _“at least not yet.”_

“You except me to believe that?” she snorted derisively in disbelief.

“You need to give up on the notion of us being together. It’s never going to happen. It’s time you moved on—moved on from me as well as your father.”

“I can’t leave my father,” she angrily declared. “He needs me.”

“He doesn’t care about you, Talia. He never has and he never will.”

“My father loves me!”

“No, he doesn’t,” he growled. “Ra’s only cares about himself and his mission.”

“Sounds a lot like you…does it not?” she bitterly countered.

Bruce sneered at her, his patience running very thin. “What are you doing here, Talia? You didn’t come up here just to kill Diana. What are you really up to?”

A spiteful smirk danced on her red lips as she stared at him. “I came to see you, beloved. We knew that you and the Amazon had been infected and were near death. I wanted to see you…to try to get you to leave with me so I could save you.”

“No,” he snapped, shaking his head. “There’s more to it than that. You did something up here or brought something to the Watchtower. Did you bring the virus with you?”

Talia just stared at him with fire in her eyes, refusing to answer him. Batman’s hand immediately went to his commlink. “Batman to Superman. Lock down the cargo bay immediately. The virus is in one of the containers.”


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

**_Watchtower Cargo Bay; June 24th, 18:23 EST_ **

Batman swept into the cargo bay to find a flurry of activity, everyone dressed in hazmat suits as they searched each and every one of the countless containers. Superman was scanning each one with his x-ray vision before moving on to the next, Green Lantern using his ring to move the already cleared ones aside.

“Got it!” Superman suddenly yelled, startling everyone.

Batman immediately stalked towards him as John encased it in a green energy bubble to keep any of the contagion from leaking out. “I want it sent to my lab immediately,” he instructed him.

Superman looked at the Dark Knight as if he had just lost his mind. “You are in no shape to be—”

“And we have no time left if Ra’s is already trying to sneak the virus onto the Watchtower,” he abruptly interrupted him. “He’s planning something big.”

“More then he already has?” John asked, skeptical.

“The devices you’ve stopped already are just the tip of the iceberg,” Batman bit out, his impatience simmering just beneath the surface. “Ra’s wanted this device up here to keep us occupied while he puts the next part of his plan into action.”

Superman’s hand immediately went to his commlink as realization finally washed over him. “Superman to Steel. We need to go to high alert. We also need to alert every single government—”

“I’ve got emergency calls coming in from all over the globe, Supes,” Steel cut in. “Reports are coming in of devices found in Rome…Beijing…San Francisco.”

Superman looked up at Bruce and John, raw fear flashing through his eyes. “It’s beginning,” he said in a haunting tone. “Steel, get teams to transporters now!”

“Just got reports from Toronto and Buenos Aires,” Steel informed him. “I’ve got five devices leaking contagion, Supes.”

“We’re on our way,” Clark told him. “Let’s go, John.”

“Mister Terrific,” Green Lantern hailed him. “Send this device to Batman’s lab and set up containment around it.”

“Consider it done,” Mister Terrific told him.

Batman watched as Superman and Green Lantern flew out of the cargo bay, the device disappearing from sight. It was past time he got to work at tracking down Ra’s regardless of how he was struggling to breathe at that moment.

It was time to end this.

**_Rome; June 24th, 18:41 EST_ **

Flash, Black Canary, Arrow, and Supergirl all appeared in a sudden burst of bright light to find mass chaos all around them. People were running out of a building, scattering in every direction in order to escape what they had just found inside. Italian words filled the air, mingling with screams and cries as parents grabbed children, husbands grabbed wives in an effort to get to safety.

“How’s your Italian, Arrow?” Black Canary asked as she quickly surveyed the situation.

“A little rusty, but I think we can figure out what’s going on without a translator,” he quipped.

“We need to get these people to safety and isolate anyone who has been infected,” Flash stated as he put on a breathing mask. “Canary and Arrow…clear the entire area. Supergirl and I will go after the device.”

“Be careful,” Kara warned them before she and Flash disappeared inside the contaminated building.

“I’ll start in the basement while you start at the top,” Flash told her. “We’ll meet in the middle. Call me if you find anything.”

“Sure thing, Flash,” Kara agreed as she took off towards the top the floor, breathing mask firmly in place. They couldn’t take any chances even if they did have an antidote now.

She rapidly soared straight up the staircase towards the top floor, passing by swarms of people who were racing down the stairs to safety. They were all yelling in Italian, making it difficult to understand what they were saying, but the sense of panic they conveyed was universal in any language. She just had to figure out if the device was up here or down below where Flash was. At least there wasn’t any sign of the blue smoke yet, giving her a small measure of hope.

Reaching the forty-fifth floor, Kara’s hope quickly turned to dread as she spotted blue smoke pouring from the ceiling vents. Using her heat vision, she set to work melting the metal vents, closing them off and keeping any more of the contagion from escaping.

“Flash,” Kara hailed him. “We’ve got contagion leaking through the vents on the top floor.”

“I found the device,” Flash told her. “I’m in the process of shutting it down and containing the gas.”

“Better make it quick,” she replied.

“I’ve got Steel transporting it into containment right now,” Flash stated.

“I’ll try to contain it up here. Supergirl out.”

Kara released her freezing breath, crystallizing the contagion that still filled the air as a secondary device hidden in a hall closet suddenly exploded.

**_Beijing; June 24th, 18:45 EST_ **

“Send them over here!” B’wana Beast yelled, waving at Booster Gold to send the civilians in his direction. “We need to get them away from that restaurant!”

“Red Tornado!” Vixen summoned her colleague. “Any sign of the device?”

“Not yet,” he reported in. “How many infected do we have so far?”

“Three,” Vixen told him. “We’re got them quarantined for the moment at the nearest hospital. J’onn’s been alerted and transmitting the antidote to the doctors so they can get working on treating them.”

“Keep everyone clear of the building,” Red Tornado stated. “We cannot allow anyone else to be infected.”

“I’m coming in there to help you,” she decided.

“No, I believe I’m getting close.”

Vixen didn’t like this one bit, something in her gut telling her that this whole situation was off. “Red Tornado!” she yelled into her commlink. “You need to get out of there!”

“I have found the device,” he informed her. “Moving in to deactivate it now.”

“I think you should get out of there,” she warned him, channeling the spirit of the wolf. “I smell a bomb.”

“Coming out now!” he responded, flying out of the restaurant to where Vixen was across the street.

He barely got halfway across the street before it exploded in a fireball, blue smoke hanging thickly in the air. “Steel,” Red Tornado called. “We need a containment unit down here STAT.”

**_Toronto; June 24th, 18:46 EST_ **

“Shayera!” John yelled. “Get back before you’re exposed and end up in isolation too!”

“I’m fine,” she claimed. “Don’t worry about me. Just get those people out of here.”

John growled to himself, more than a little irritated with her for throwing herself into danger all the time like this. Ever since her return after the Thanagarian invasion a couple of years ago, she’d felt the overwhelming need to prove herself again to everyone, especially the people of earth. She needed them to know that their trust was not misplaced, her allegiance to earth true.

He quickly powered his ring, setting up a green barrier to keep people safe from exposure as Shayera and Fire set to work finding the device before it began emitting the toxic fumes. Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted Ice directing traffic away from the intersection while keeping ambulance personnel and police close at hand in case they were needed.

“Just find the device and get out of there!” John ordered her, his stomach tightening with every second that passed by.

“Green Lantern,” Steel hailed him. “Vixen and Tornado’s device exploded in Beijing. Be on alert for more trouble.”

“Got it,” John responded. “Thanks for the update.”

It sent a shiver up his spine, thinking of his fellow Leaguers being blown up again. After what they had just gone through with Bruce and Diana, he didn’t think he could stomach going through that all over again, especially if it involved Shayera.

“Be careful, Shay,” John warned her. “Tornado and Vixen encountered a bomb. Just find that thing and get out of there.”

“We’re working as fast as we can here,” Fire cut in.

“Just don’t get blown up or infected with the virus,” John told them before switching his focus to his other teammate. “Ice! Get the paramedics ready just in case.”

“Already on it,” she reassured him.

“Found it!” Shayera cried in triumphant.

“Just get it sent to the Watchtower containment before—”

John was unable to finish his sentence as the device suddenly exploded, throwing Shayera several yards away. She landed hard against a brick building, slumping lifelessly to the ground.

**_Buenos Aires; June 24th, 18:50 EST_ **

Aquaman seethed as he worked to get the area cleared, furious over the fact that another device had been planted along his domain. He would not allow it to detonate and contaminate his ocean or these people. He had to find a way to stop this before it spiraled even further out of control.

“Atom Smasher!” Aquaman yelled. “Find that device and get it out of here!”

“Way ahead of you,” he yelled back. “Captain Atom and Zatanna are already zeroing in on it now.”

“Then let’s keep anymore from being infected,” Aquaman told him. “We can’t allow that toxin to contaminate the ocean.”

“Or the people,” Atom Smasher pointed out, annoyed with Aquaman’s single-minded focus on his precious marine life.

“Yes, them too,” Arthur stated with a scowl, offended that his teammate would suggest that they didn’t matter to him as well. “How many have been infected so far?”

“I’ve got five moved into isolation so far,” Atom Smasher responded. “Medics are attending to them now.”

“Just keep an eye out for any more devices,” Aquaman told him before turning his attention to the others. “Zatanna, have you found it yet?”

“We’ve got two devices, not just one,” she responded. “We’re in the process of containing both of them now.”

“Keep me posted and let me know if you need help,” Aquaman stated. “We’re trying to clear everyone out of here, but we’re having a hard time.”

“Atom just entered the first device,” she revealed. “I’m in the process of shutting down the second one, but—”

A loud explosion rocked the ground and filled Aquaman’s ears. “Zatanna! Zatanna, are you all right?”

Receiving no response, he contacted Atom Smasher. “Smasher, you have to get Zatanna and Atom. Something’s wrong. I’ll keep working on getting the area cleared.”

“You got it, fish man,” Smasher agreed. “Have the Watchtower on standby in case we have injuries.”

“Aquaman to Watchtower. Be on standby for possible emergency transport to the infirmary.”

“On standby, Aquaman,” Steel responded.

**_San Francisco; June 24th, 18:54 EST_ **

Superman landed with two small children in his arms, setting them safely down next to their mother. “Thank you, Superman,” she said as tears trailed down her face, grabbing her children in her arms and holding them close.

“Just get as far away from here as possible,” he instructed her. “We’re still trying to secure the area.”

“Dove to Superman. We found the device. It’s inside of a convenience store on the corner, two blocks from your current position.”

“On my way,” he told him before taking off towards the device. “Just keep moving people away from the store.”

“We’re way ahead of you, Superman,” Hawk chimed in. “S.T.R.I.P.E. is setting up blockades on the cross streets and Stargirl is clearing out the building next door to the convenience store.”

“Good,” Superman stated. “I’ll be there in less than thirty seconds.”

“You’ve got ten!” Dove yelled. “The device is about to blow up!”

“Get out of there…now!” Superman ordered him. “I’ll take care of it.”

Moving fast, Superman flew into the convenience store, using his x-ray vision to see through the wall in order to find the device. Spotting the cyndrical container, he flew straight at it, using his freeze breath to create a casing of ice around to keep any contagion from leaking out.

“Steel!” he yelled as he laid his commlink on top of it. “Immediate transport for the device up to containment!”

Superman watched as the device disappeared before his eyes, releasing a ragged breath as his shoulders slumped. That had been far too close for his liking. Hawk and Dove flew in at that moment, anxious to help only to find the device was already gone.

“Whew!” Hawk exhaled. “That was too close.”

“Let’s just hope it didn’t blow up the Watchtower,” Dove commented as he leaned his back against a wall to catch his breath.

“I wonder how everyone else is fairing,” Superman muttered, unable to shake the feeling of dread that sat like a knot in his stomach.

**_Watchtower Infirmary; June 24th, 19:01 EST_ **

John raced into the infirmary with Shayera cradled in his arms, panic etched on his face. “J’onn!” he yelled. “Shayera’s hurt!”

J’onn looked up from checking on Diana’s bandages to find John laying Shayera down on one of the medical beds. He quickly went to her, noticing the nasty wound on the side of her head. “What happened?”

“One of the devices exploded,” he ground out, his fury barely contained. “She managed to escape being infected by the device, but it knocked her several yards back into a brick building.”

“Steel to J’onn,” he hailed him on his commlink. “We’ve got incoming injuries as well as three infected by the contagion.”

“Transport the three infected immediately into isolation,” he ordered him.

“Transporting Supergirl, Zatanna, and Captain Atom now,” Steel revealed.

J’onn shook his head with the new information as he began to work on Shayera. “Her injuries do not appear to be life-threatening at the moment, but she’ll require further investigations to check for internal injuries,” he informed John. “I’m turning her care over to Dr. Stephens while I go to isolation to take care of the others.”

John could only nod his head in response as he gazed down at Shayera and the blood that oozed from her head wound. He squeezed her hand, leaning down to whisper in her ear. “I’m right here, Shay. Hang on. Dr. Stephens is going to get you all fixed up.”

“John?” she murmured, fighting to open her eyes.

“I’m here,” he reassured her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

John looked up to find Diana coming to stand on the other side of Shayera’s bed, her left arm in a sling, chest and her shoulder heavily bandaged. “Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked.

“We were able to contain the contagion after the device exploded,” he told her, releasing a weary breath. “I have no idea how the other teams are doing, though.”

At that moment, Flash rushed into the infirmary. Her uniform was tattered and numerous cuts covered his arms and legs, a large gash in his side. “I need a doctor here!” he yelled, bending over and placing his hands on his thighs.

Dr. Stephens and Dr. Tatum as well as several of the medical staff rushed to tend to their patients, Dr Tatum going to Flash while Dr. Stephens made his way towards Shayera. “I’ll need you all to stay back while we work,” Dr. Stephens informed them.

John and Diana all stepped back to watch as both teams went to work. “I can’t believe this happening,” Diana murmured under her breath, stunned by what Ra’s had done. Her throat tightened as tears threatened to form. Her friends were being taken out and there was nothing she could do to stop it. “Flash, are you all right?”

“It was awful,” Flash softly admitted with a haunting look on his face, staring at Diana from his place on the end of one of the hospital beds. “I couldn’t get to Supergirl in time. Rubble was raining down on us…the floor collapsing beneath my feet.”

“It was like that compound in the Nubian Desert all over again,” John revealed, his voice heavy with worry.

“Shayera’s fortunate she wasn’t exposed like we were or she’d be in isolation right now,” Diana thoughtfully replied.

“The bomb knocked her too far away,” John said. “We were able to contain it before the virus reached her.”

“I’m going to find Batman and see if there’s anything I can do help him figure out where Ra’s is,” Diana informed them, determined to help stop this.

“Should you be leaving the infirmary, Di?” Flash asked as Dr. Tatum inspected his injuries. “You’re not exactly in great shape yourself right now.”

“I’m better than our friends are doing right now,” she remarked, more than a little worried and needing to see Bruce. “Besides, I can’t stay here any longer, not with Ra’s out there planning more destruction and chaos.”

**_Watchtower Lab; June 24th, 19:39 EST_ **

Batman studied the samples he’d taken from the container that Talia had brought aboard the Watchtower, comparing it with the information that they had already been able to gather on the virus and the devices that Ra’s had been using to distribute it.

He had to find something that would tell him where Ra’s al Ghul was hiding now. Too much was at stake, especially with all the madness that he was spreading now. He should have seen this coming, should have know that Ra’s would set off several devices in various parts of the world.

He cursed to himself for not having predicted it sooner. As it was, he had figured out something was wrong just before the device on the Watchtower had detonated, saving the League from being infected, but it had just been a ploy on Ra’s’ part to divert attention away from his real plan.

There just had to be something, some sort of marker or a clue hidden in this container that would tell him where Ra’s’ base was at. If he didn’t find anything, he still had another plan up his sleeve that he was reluctant to use, but it was looking more likely by the moment.

Hearing his lab doors swish open, he froze, knowing immediately who had just entered without having to turn around. “What are you doing here, Princess?” he growled as he looked through his microscope at the slide he’d prepared. “You’re supposed to be in the infirmary recovering.”

“I came to see if there was something I could do to help you,” she replied as she came to stand beside him, “and, if you want to start pointing fingers, you should be in the infirmary too right now.”

“I can’t,” he bluntly stated without looking up at her. “I have too much work to do. I have to find Ra’s.”

“And risk your health in the process?”

“I’m the only one who can find him and put him a stop to him.”

“How do you plan on doing that when you can hardly breathe?”

“I’m fine,” he grunted.

“Good,” she stubbornly said. “So am I.”

“You were shot, Diana,” he gruffly countered. “You’re far from fine. Return to the infirmary so I can work without having to worry about you.”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Bruce,” she gently told him, her hand coming to rest on his forearm. “I don’t go down easily.”

“But you still go down,” he softly stated.

“Bruce—”

“What am I supposed to do when you don’t get back up?” he demanded to know, his voice harsh with raw emotion. “How am I supposed to cope with that?”

“Do you honestly think it’s any easier for me watching you throw yourself into every dangerous situation that arises and wondering if you’ll come out of it alive?” she demanded to know, her own anger rising. “When you were dying with that virus, I was pleading with my gods to take my life in order to save yours.”

His head snapped up to look at her, his stomach clenching with her unexpected confession. “Princess…” he began, his voice trailing off as he tried to process what she had just told him. She had pleaded with her gods to take her life in exchange for his. Why was she so anxious to die for him?”

“Bruce, I love you and there’s nothing in this world that I wouldn’t do for you,” she confessed. “Now, what can I do to help you find Ra’s and end this once and for all?”

Her confession of love created a sense of warmth inside of him that took him by surprise. He hadn’t realized how much hearing her tell him that she loved him would affect him so deeply. He found he really wanted to kiss her, but knew now was not the time.

“See if you can figure out how Talia was able to infiltrate our delivery company,” he finally relented. “You can use the computer here beside me…and I love you too.”

Even though he had roughly grumbled the last part, she couldn’t deny how it made her heart flutter. The fact that he hadn’t tried to force her back to the infirmary spoke volumes, telling her that he actually liked her being here with him.

Diana swiftly leaned in and pressed her lips to his cheek before quickly moving past him to his computer station. Sitting down in the chair, she shyly glanced over at him to find the faintest of smiles tugging at the corner of his mouth. She smiled to herself as she began to remove her sling, more than anxious to work. Seeing Shayera so badly injured had only served to fuel her anger as well as her determination to help find Ra’s.

She quickly got to work; making inquiries with the delivery company which just so happened to be owned by Wayne Enterprises. It appeared that two of their employees had been found tied up and unconscious in a closet, meaning that someone besides Talia had been on board the Watchtower.

She frowned to herself as she tried to remember what the man who she had seen with Talia had looked like. They’d both been wearing baseball caps with the brim pulled down, making it more than difficult to identify them.

Bruce had known immediately that it had been Talia with the gun, but he had also been in love with her at one point. The thought caused Diana to bristle with jealous fury. She really wanted to go down to detainment and personally thank Talia with her fists for trying to kill her, but she needed to channel her fury into stopping anymore people from being hurt.

Diana bit at her bottom lip as she pulled up the security feed from when she was shot, watching as Talia pulled that gun, Bruce rushing towards her after stopping the daughter of Ra’s. The pure hatred that had burned in Talia al Ghul’s eyes was startling. The woman was obviously obsessed with Bruce, not to mention deranged making Diana wonder what Bruce had ever seen in the woman.

Rewinding the video, she played the scene over again, zooming in on the other man. Pausing it on his face, she took a picture of him before watching to see where he actually went after Talia’s attack. Her frown deepened, her brow furrowing as she watched him transport off the Watchtower, leaving Talia behind to fend for herself.

“Do you know this man?” she finally asked after working in silence with him for nearly an hour.

Batman came to stand next to her, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the picture of the man. “Ubu,” he ground out the name. “He’s a loyal servant of Ra’s…his right hand man.”

“I can’t believe he left Talia behind,” she murmured as she studied the video footage. “He just took off and left her behind.”

“I have a feeling Talia shooting you wasn’t part of the original plan,” he tightly replied.

“But still…to leave her behind to be captured like that?” she continued. “He didn’t even try to help her.”

“That’s because he was probably under orders from Ra’s to deliver the container to the Watchtower and get out of here,” he explained. “Even though Talia is his daughter, nothing is more important to Ra’s then his mission, not even his own flesh and blood.”

“And yet she blindly follows him,” she said, almost feeling sorry for the woman. “It makes no sense at all.”

“He’s her father,” he stated, his anger more than evident. “She refused to leave him for any reason.”

“Even you,” she softly added as she stared at the screen.

“Yes, but that’s in the past, Princess,” he reminded her. “Whatever I may have felt for her died when she chose her father over me.”

“I’m sorry, Bruce,” she replied. “I’m sure she hurt you deeply at the time.”

While he appreciated her compassion, he wasn’t in the mood to discuss Talia with her right now. She was his past and Diana was hopefully his future if he didn’t screw this up. “It was all for the best,” he evenly admitted.

Diana wished that he’d open up more to her about it, but she knew better than to push him. “Have you made any headway with the container or the device inside of it?”

“No, but I have a plan B.”

She turned to look at him, her forehead creased with curiosity. “What’s plan B?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” he told her.

“I really wish you’d return to the infirmary. You don’t look well,” she said with a concerned frown on her face.

“You should talk,” he shot back with a frown. “I wasn’t the one who got shot.”

“How was I supposed to know your crazy ex-girlfriend was going to show up here and start shooting at me?”

“If you hadn’t left the infirmary in the first place, you wouldn’t have gotten shot,” he angrily spat out, turning his back to her.

“And whose fault was that?”

Before Batman could form a response, alarms started going off all over the Watchtower, red lights flashing. “What now?” Diana grumbled irritably under her breath.

**_Watchtower Detainment; June 24th, 20:52 EST_ **

Talia sat in her cell, silently plotting out her escape as well as how she was going to rid the world of Wonder Woman. Despite what her beloved had told her, she was not about to give up on them being together again someday. She knew in her heart that he was still in love with her. She just needed to get that Amazon wench out of the way first.

Then, her beloved would finally see that she had been right all along—they were meant to be together.

Even though her beloved denied it, she knew that Diana had to have done something to turn him against her like this. She was going to make her pay dearly for doing this to him…to them. She had no right taking him away from her.

She began pacing in her cell, wondering when her beloved would return. She was more than anxious to see him, to touch and kiss him and remind him why he had fallen in love with her in the first place. If she could just have him alone with her where she could actually touch him instead of just talking to him through a shield of plexi-glass, she could help him remember his love for her.

“Howdy, ma’am,” Vigilante greeted her with his usual drawl as he entered with a tray of food in hand. “Batman asked me to make sure that you got something to eat.”

Talia instantly brightened with the thought that her beloved had been worried about her. She was disappointed that he hadn’t brought her the tray himself, but this was a definite sign that he truly loved her, still had feelings for her.

She took a step back, her mind already working as the cowboy superhero before her disabled the security on her cell before lowering the plexi-glass that kept her from being free. Her eyes narrowed as he entered her cell, turning to set the tray on the small table in the corner.

“Hope you like what I brought for you, ma’am,” Vigilante said as he began removing the plates and glass from the tray, completely missing Talia inching closer to him.

Talia snuck up behind him, lacing her fingers together before slamming her fists down on the back of his neck, knocking him out cold. She quickly fled the detainment area, more than anxious to get out of here and return to her father.

While she wished she could persuade her beloved to come away with her, she knew the Amazon would only try to stop them. She scowled darkly, wishing her beloved would have showed up a half second later. If he hadn’t shown up when he had, yelling Diana’s name and causing her to turn around, the Amazon would be dead right now.

She silently slipped down the corridor, more than thankful to find it empty. Coming to an intersecting corridor, she paused to peer around the corner to find it empty as well. She knew that the majority of the League was out trying to stop the devices that they had planted all over the globe, hopefully infected millions.

Turning down the corridor, she couldn’t help wondering where her beloved was at that moment. Was he with the Amazon in the infirmary, sitting by her bedside as she recovered from being shot? Would he even know that she had escaped and try to find her? She prayed that he would come after her so she could have the chance to win him back.

She carefully replayed the route that Superman had taken when he had taken her to her cell, hoping to sneak into the cargo bay and escape through the transporter system the same way that Ubu had. She really couldn’t blame him for leaving her behind. She had gone against her father’s orders. Although anxious to return to him, she did not look forward to facing him after she had allowed herself to be captured, disobeying his orders.

He would be most unhappy with her for allowing herself to be caught and endangering their mission. Because of her actions, her beloved had been able to figure out that the contagion had been brought on board the Watchtower, allowing them to isolate the device before it had released the virus.

It had been worth it, though, to get a chance at taking out the mighty Wonder Woman. She relished the thought of having another chance at her, facing off against the Amazon Princess and making her suffer for stealing her beloved away from her.

Turning down the next hallway, Talia froze at the sound of alarms blaring and red lights flashing. They had discovered she had escaped. She immediately took off running towards the cargo bay, more than determined to get out of here and yet hoping that her beloved would show up and try to stop her.

Entering the cargo bay, she found herself all alone as she raced towards the transporter pad, no Batman in sight. She ran past containers, dodging large crates of supplies before coming to a stop before the transporter controls.

She quickly began typing, entering the destination. Turning around, she stared at the large doors to the cargo bay, silently willing him to appear so she could talk to him, convince him to come with her and leave this absurd excuse for a life behind him as well as Wonder Woman.

“Come to me, my beloved,” she whispered to herself as she stared at the doors, pleading with him to come after her.

As she stepped onto the transporter pad, the doors abruptly swished open, Batman and Wonder Woman racing inside. “Talia!” Batman yelled.

“You were supposed to choose me…not her!” Talia screamed with fury. “I will never give you up, beloved. You belong with me. You will be mine again very soon and she…she will be dead.”

“You really know how to pick them,” Diana murmured under her breath with a scowl.

“You may have won this round, Amazon, but you won’t win the next! He is mine!” Talia spat out as she disappeared from sight.

Diana began to race towards the transporter pad only to be pulled to a stop by a sudden hand on her arm. She turned back to look into Batman’s cowled face, confusion clouding her eyes. “What was that? Why did you let her go?”

“That was plan B,” Batman cryptically told her.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

**_Watchtower Isolation; June 25th, 02:54 EST_ **

Dick slowly pulled his hazmat helmet over his head with a sigh of resignation, memories of visiting a dying Bruce here just a couple of days before running rampant through his heart and mind. He couldn’t go through that all over again, not with someone that he was beginning to care for…open his heart to.

J’onn had reassured him that they were already working on creating more doses of the antidote. He was certain they would be able to stop the virus before any of them got as sick as Bruce and Diana had. Dick just hoped it began working sooner rather than later. He couldn’t bear the thought of Zatanna suffering. She had been there when he had needed someone, a friend to lean on when it when it had felt like everything was spiraling out of control.

Entering the large isolation unit, he slowly made his way to Zatanna’s bed, his fear rising with the sight of her so banged up. She had a bandage on the side of her head, her left forearm and hand in a cast. She was hooked up to monitors and IV’s much like Bruce and Diana had been. To her right, Captain Atom and Supergirl were in the same shape she was, none of them appearing to be doing very well at that particular moment.

He silently made his way to her side, glancing over at the unconscious Atom in the bed next to hers. This was too much like what Bruce and Diana had just gone through, making his stomach churn with dread at what was about to come. 

Taking a seat next to her bed, he picked up her right hand, holding it protectively in his glove, wishing he could touch her without the barrier separating them. Zatanna barely opened her blue eyes, turning to look into the worried face of Nightwing that was protected behind the clear plastic plate of his isolation helmet. 

“Hey, bird boy,” she weakly greeted him, trying to focus her vision as well as her clouded mind.

“Hey, Zee,” he softly replied with a forced smile, but it was difficult with how battered and bruised she appeared. “So I see you’re going out and getting yourself blown up with another guy behind my back?”

Zatanna smiled softly at him, trying to keep from laughing, knowing it would only increase the pain she was already feeling in her bruised ribs. “It wasn’t really my intention to cheat on you like that,” she lightly teased, squeezing his hand in reassurance.

“Well, just don’t let it happen again. I might get jealous,” he admonished her with a mischeivious tone, his expression growing solemn as he reached out to caress her bruised cheek. “You really scared me, Zee. When I’d heard that you had gotten blown up, I had feared the worse.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, melting into his touch on her face even though it was his glove. “It just all happened so fast. We were trying to get the devices out of there and the next thing I knew, I was here. Is everyone else okay?”

“Captain Atom and Supergirl were infected. They’re pretty banged up too,” he informed her. “Shayera is in the infirmary with injuries from a device that exploded, but she wasn’t infected. Flash was injured trying to dig Supergirl out, but he should be fine.”

“I hope they’ll be all right,” she mumbled, finding it more than difficult to keep her eyes open.

“Don’t worry about them. They’re in good hands,” he reassured her. “J’onn is already working on more of the antidote to save you and the others.”

Zatanna released a sigh, more than worried about her fellow teammates. “I wish there was something I could do to help.”

“You just need to worry about getting better so I can take you out on a date, one that doesn’t include patrolling Gotham.”

Her lips curled into a smile with his words, her eyes brightening somewhat. “Where are you planning on taking me?”

“You need to get out of here first if you want to find out.”

“Do I at least get a little hint?” she pleaded with him.

“No,” he refused to tell her with a shake of his head. “It’s your incentive to get better faster.”

“If I had my wand, I’d cast a spell on you and force you into submission,” she threatened.

Dick laughed with her threat as he stared into her eyes. “Save that for our date.”

Zatanna blushed with his flirtatious remark, her heart growing warm with his presence. “You’re incorrigible, Richard Grayson.”

“And you’re beautiful, Zatanna Zatara,” he replied with a smirk.

“I’d kiss you for that, but we wouldn’t get very far with that hazmat helmet in the way,” she flirted.

“Well, I guess you’ll have to get out of isolation so you can kiss me all you want,” he told her, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at her.

“I’ll do my best,” she reassured him as she began to drift off. “Will you please stay with me for a little bit?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he softly promised her.

A serene expression veiled her face, her hand growing limp in his as unconsciousness claimed her once more. “Get better, Zee,” he whispered as he leaned back in his chair to wait until she woke up again.

**_Watchtower Infirmary; June 25th, 03:22 EST_ **

John Stewart sat in a chair that had been scooted as close to Shayera’s bed as he could possibly get without actually being in the bed with her. Her hand was firmly grasped between his two larger ones, his elbows resting on the edge of her bed as he waited for her to open her eyes.

He hadn’t left her side since he had brought her in here, waiting for her to wake up. Every minute that ticked by without her opening her eyes caused the pain in his chest to dig a little deeper. He should have been there to protect her, should have stopped her from going after that device in the first place. At the same time, he knew that he never would have been able to talk her out of going. That was just who she was. However, things were about to change drastically for them.

He kept replaying the horrifying events over again in his head, swearing that he could still hear her scream when that device exploded, the dreadful sound of her hitting that brick building as if she had been just shot out of a cannon. It was still rattled by it, especially after what Dr. Tatum had told him.

To say that he was stunned was the understatement of the century.

After what had taken place with the Thanagarian invasion, he had stood by and just let her walk out of his life regardless of the fact that she had ended up helping save them all. It had nearly broken him when she had left, walking out of his life like she had. He had tried to pick up the pieces of his life after that, moving on with Mari, but he had never been as truly happy as he had been with his Shayera.

Now that they were back together as it should have been all along, he knew that he couldn’t survive losing her again. He was going to do everything in his power to make sure they stayed together for as long as there was breath in his body, now more so than ever.

The sound of her groaning pulled him from his reverie, causing him to sit up a little straighter. “Shay,” he softly uttered her name, hope swelling inside of him.

“John?”

“I’m right here,” he reassured her, bringing her hand up to his lips to kiss her knuckles as his eyes fell closed with overwhelming relief. “How do you feel?”

“Like a building broke my fall,” she replied with another groan as she tried to sit up in bed.

“No you don’t,” he sternly scolded her, gently pushing her back. “You’re not going anywhere for now.”

She looked at him with a scowl on her face, not happy about being in the infirmary. “I’m fine.”

John couldn’t suppress the chuckle that abruptly rose in his throat. “You are far from fine, Shay,” he told her with a snort of disapproval. “You have a bad concussion and some broken ribs. You are not going to be going anywhere for the next few days at the very least.”

“Were you able to stop the device from infecting anyone?” she asked, still feeling groggy.

“Yah, we got it safely contained and into isolation,” he reassured her. “No one in Toronto was infected.”

She stared at him for a long moment, trying to process the words that he had chosen to use. “What do you mean Toronto? Were the others not as successful?” she asked with a frown.

“Zatanna, Supergirl, and Captain Atom have all been infected with the virus and are in isolation right now,” he informed her, worry filling his voice. “J’onn is going to treat them with the antidote as soon as he can create more. There were several civilians that were infected in San Francisco and Beijing, but the rest were able to contain the virus they discovered.”

“This can’t be happening,” she murmured, more than a little angry that she was stuck in the infirmary instead of being out there with the others containing the situations erupting all over the globe. “I need to get out of here, John. There’s going to be clean up and containment from the explosions, not to mention Ra’s is probably already coordinating more strikes. There’s too much work to be done right now.”

“Let us handle it, Shay,” he stated, his tone of voice leaving no room for argument. “Besides, I have some pretty big news. You’re benched as of right now.”

“What? Why?”

“Dr. Tatum discovered that you’re pregnant,” John informed her, a smile spreading across his concerned face.

“I’m what?” she gasped in shock.

“We’re going to have a baby,” he replied.

Shayera looked down at her abdomen, more than a little shocked by the news. “We…we’re going to have a baby? How far along am I?”

“Six weeks,” he responded, doing his best to hold in the emotions that were battling for escape. “You were very lucky, Shay. Dr. Tatum said despite your injuries, the baby is fine. It seems your Thanagarian composition helped to protect our baby.”

Shayera’s eyes closed as she sank back against the pillows, releasing a slow breath. “I had no idea,” she murmured.

“It’s okay,” he reassured her. “The baby is fine and you’re going to be better in a couple of days.”

While she didn’t like the idea of being sidelined, she couldn’t deny the excitement that filled with her with the thought of having a baby with John. She couldn’t wait to tell Diana the news. “How is Diana doing?” she asked, looking around the infirmary with sudden worry. “Shouldn’t she be in here?”

“She’s refusing to stay in the infirmary,” he replied. “She and Bats are currently tracking Talia, hoping that she’ll lead them to her father so we can shut him down.”

“What do you mean ‘tracking her’?” she demanded to know as she attempted to sit up a little in her bed, her gaze narrowing with mounting irritation. “She’s in detainment on the Watchtower, isn’t she?”

“Um…not exactly. I mean she was, but not any longer,” he reluctantly revealed, wondering how much he should actually be telling her. He didn’t want to upset her with as injured as she was and especially now that they knew she was pregnant. “Bats instructed Vigilante to let her escape from her cell.”

“He what?!” she yelled, her eyes widening in stunned disbelief.

“Shay, calm down,” he cautioned her as he moved to sit on the edge of her bed.

“Talia shot Diana and Batman just lets her waltz out of here as if she’d done nothing wrong?” she fumed. “Has he finally lost his mind?”

“Bats had Superman put a tracer on her when he took her to detainment,” he explained. “Bruce wasn’t making any headway with the device so he let her escape, knowing that she’d lead us right to Ra’s.”

Shayera contemplated his explanation before grudgingly deciding Batman’s reasoning was actually quite sound if not brilliant. She probably would’ve done the exact same thing if she’d been in his shoes. She forced herself to relax against the pillows once more, her pounding headache beginning to ease slightly now that she was a little calmer.

“And I suppose that Batman is planning on going after Ra’s all alone with the horrible condition he’s in?” she correctly surmised.

“No, I believe Diana is also going with him.”

”She’s in no shape to be going anywhere after being shot and especially with Batman who is on oxygen,” she cried. “They’ll never be able to take Ra’s down in the condition they’re in. We need to go with them.”

“You are going nowhere. You’re injured and you’re carrying my child,” he adamantly declared with a scowl of his own. “I’m going along with them now that I know that you’re going to be all right.”

Shayera grumbled under her breath as she averted her eyes, obviously none too happy about the situation. “I don’t like this one bit. They’re going to need all the help they can get. I swear those two have a death wish sometimes with how they just throw themselves into danger without a second thought.”

“I knew that you wouldn’t like it,” he told her. “That’s why I contemplated whether to tell you or not. Look, Supes and I will be going along to keep an eye on them. You just need to concentrate on getting better. I can’t lose you, Shay…especially now.”

Her expression softened somewhat with his words, noticing the fear that flashed through his dark brown eyes. She placed her hand gently against his cheek, leaning in for a kiss. “I’ll behave,” she reluctantly assured him. “Just promise that you’ll come back to me in one piece.”

“I’ll do my very best,” he promised her, kissing her again.

“And make sure you bring Bruce and Diana back too,” she sternly instructed him. “We can’t have them coming back in worse shape than when they left.”

He chuckled softly with her orders, nuzzling his nose against hers. “You sure have become quite protective of those two.”

“I guess I have,” she thoughtfully admitted with a wry smile. “It’s just they’ve been through so much. Now that I’ve finally gotten Bruce to actually talk to her about how he feels, I’m not about to let anything stand in the way of them being happy together like we are.”

John grinned, pressing his lips to her forehead. “Aren’t you becoming the sentimental one,” he lightly teased her.

“Let’s just say that I’ve gotten a new outlook on life since you and I have gotten back together,” she confessed. “I’ve been given a second chance at love and life and I’m not going to throw it away or give you up. Of course, it could just be my maternal instincts coming out in me already.”

“That’s good because I’m never letting you go again either.”

He kissed her deeply, his fingers slipping into her hair to hold her close as his tongue explored her mouth all over again. He finally broke the kiss for much needed air, knowing that he was going to have to leave her soon. Batman was already in a vile mood and teetering on the very edge as it was without adding to it by being late for an important mission like this one. Besides, he wouldn’t mind getting a shot in at Ra’s for hurting Shayera.

Breaking the kiss, she cradled his face in her hands, her lips brushing against his cheek. “Hurry back,” she murmured softly in his ear. “We’ll need to tell the others when you return.”

“I will,” he promised. “I love you, Shay.”

“And I love you,” she replied as he reluctantly pulled free from her embrace before making his way to the door.

She groaned to herself as she shifted onto her side, pain lancing through her body and stealing her breath. She just hoped they found Ra’s soon and put a stop to him before anyone else got hurt.

**_Watchtower Javelin Bay; June 25th, 03:54 EST_ **

Bruce sat in a far corner of the Javelin Bay, a breathing mask covering his face as he worked at one of the computer stations. After only fifteen minutes, the breathing treatment was already beginning to help. He could feel his lungs starting to open up again, his chest relaxing somewhat the longer he breathed in the medicine.

J’onn had warned him that he’d likely need treatments on the way to and from Ra’s’ hideout, but the Martian Manhunter hadn’t even bothered trying to ban him from going on the mission to stop Ra’s and Talia. Everyone knew better than to try with him, having learned long ago that it was futile.

He glanced up from his computer screen to briefly check on Diana who was standing several feet away from him, talking to Clark. He had tried talking her out of coming along, but that heated argument had gone absolutely nowhere. She had been just as adamant about going after Talia and Ra’s as he had been against her going, creating a stalemate.

In the end, though, she had won only because he hadn’t had the breath left to argue with her any longer. He’d been forced into another breathing treatment in order to keep going and stay out of the infirmary. While the treatment was helping his breathing, it hadn’t helped to lessen his worry for her or his very real fear that he was going to lose her.

She wasn’t back to full strength yet and, on top of that, she’d been shot, her left arm in a sling and handicapping her even further. He couldn’t suppress the shudder of sick dread that roiled through him as the image of Talia shooting her instantly flashed through his mind, nearly paralyzing him with panic.

He broke out in a cold sweat as memories of Diana being shot intermingled with well-guarded memories of his parents being killed in that alley. If he hadn’t gotten to the cargo bay when he had, she’d be dead right now, lying in the infirmary awaiting return to Themyscira for burial.

He felt a sudden wave of nausea wash over him, bile burning in the back of his throat with the thought. His body went rigid as he struggled to regain control of himself once more, attempting to rein-in the emotions churning violently inside of him. Now was definitely not the time to tip over into the despair and madness that lived in his soul.

Everything around him seemed to grow into a faint, distant echo as if he was in a tunnel as his escalating panic threatened to overtake him. He couldn’t lose her like he’d lost his parents, like he’d almost lost her yesterday. He knew it deep in his core that he’d never survive it, not again.

Ripping the breathing mask from his face with a sharp gasp, Bruce jumped to his feet, knowing now exactly where Talia was going—Cairo. He should’ve known it all along. He had suspected Ra’s al Ghul was somewhere near that Nubian Desert compound that they had investigated, but he hadn’t realized that Ra’s had been that close to it. He had been right under his nose all along.

“We need to head to Cairo,” he gruffly stated, causing Diana and Clark to look up sharply at his brusque announcement.

“Is your breathing treatment done already?” Diana asked, surprised as well as concerned.

“It doesn’t matter,” he bluntly stated with a shake of his head. “We need to leave now before Ra’s runs and I lose him again. If that happens, there’s no telling what trouble he’ll cause us again.”

“Bruce—” Diana began, more than prepared for another argument with him. 

“Don’t, Princess,” he angrily growled as he swept past her. “You’re in no better shape than I am so don’t even start with me. You’re either with me or you’re staying behind. We leave in five.”

Clark looked at Diana with a confused look on his face as Batman stormed up the ramp of one of the Javelins. “Well, he’s his usually cheery self again,” he muttered. “I thought you said that you and Bruce talked.”

“We did,” she murmured with a frown as she stared at the Javelin Bruce had just entered. 

While he was typically curt towards her whenever they were going on a mission, she had come to accept it as being a part of the man that she had come to love. She hadn’t really expected that to change much despite having confessed their feelings for one another, but she couldn’t help the unsettling feeling that something had changed in him, something that he was struggling to come to terms with. 

She just hoped that he would talk to her about it in time, but she knew the chances of that were slim to none. She knew getting him to open up to her was going to be next to impossible, but if they were going to make this work, he was going to have to meet her at least half way or this would never work. This relationship or whatever they had would never last.

Green Lantern swiftly swept into the Javelin Bay at that moment, a somewhat sheepish expression gracing his face. “Sorry I’m late,” he greeted them as he strode purposefully towards Wonder Woman and Superman who were still standing outside the Javelin. “Shayera finally woke up just a little bit ago.”

“Thank Hera for that,” Diana replied with obvious relief. “I was really worried about her.”

“So was I,” John admitted, releasing a long, slow breath. “She wanted to come along, but I talked her out of it.”

“Of course she did,” Superman said with a chuckle.

“Let’s move,” Batman barked from the ramp of the Javelin, causing all three to whirl around.

Diana spotted the edge of his black cape snapping as he quickly retreated back up inside the Javelin once more. She drew a weary breath, fighting back the fatigue that clung to her like a second skin as well as the hammering headache that refused to leave. Her shoulder ached mercilessly, but she could handle it. She’d had far worse than this and not that long ago…like when she and Bruce had been blown up.

Right now, though, her greatest concern lay with Bruce. He was not quite himself, but she decided to let it go for the moment. She knew that the unexpected return of Talia and this whole thing with Ra’s and the virus had unnerved him. Hopefully, once this was all finally resolved, he’d be able to recover like he needed and they’d be able to talk more.

Even though they had both expressed their love for one another, things were still very much up in the air concerning them. Their relationship was far from cemented and their issues far from solved. She was anxious to get some much needed time alone with him, to explore what it was that had been developing between them over the last four years.

They needed to define what they actually were to each other; how far they wanted to take whatever it was that they shared. Were they just going to keep it casual or exclusive? Could they even make a relationship work with Bruce’s commitment to his city and his mission?

Diana knew in her heart what she felt, what she wanted and, even though it went against everything that she had been trained and taught to believe, she wanted a life with him.

Walking up the ramp into the Javelin, Diana deposited the box of medical supplies and medicine that J’onn had given her for Bruce to continue his breathing treatments as needed. The Martian Manhunter had given her a wan smile, both knowing that trying to get Bruce to do what he needed to in order to take care of himself was a task that was next to impossible.

They both knew that if there was anyone in this world who could get him to do what he needed to, it was going to be her. With the dark mood that he was currently in, though, she was beginning to seriously doubt her own success in getting him to listen even to her at this point.

Batman was already firing up the engines as Diana slid into the co-pilots seat beside him, running through all the pre-flight checks. He gave her a brief glance, the sling on her arm causing his chest to clench even more with the worry that refused to leave him. He knew this was a very bad idea, but he also knew that she’d never forgive him if he didn’t let her come along. Of course, when it came to Diana, ‘let’ was a very loose term to use.

Her expression was far from encouraging at that moment, wincing as she fastened the straps of her harness over her shoulders and causing her to draw in a sharp breath with the pain that lanced through her. He wasn’t certain if she was going because of him or because she wanted to get her hands on Talia for shooting her. Either way, he couldn’t let anything more happen to her than what already had.

He had already known long before now that he would willingly give his life for her without a second thought. It had only been further cemented in his mind that moment as he allowed himself to gaze at her a moment longer, his resolve harder than steel. There wasn’t anything in this world or the next that he wouldn’t do for.

He had been telling her the truth when he had told her that he was scared of her. What he felt for her was all-consuming, invading every inch of him. He couldn’t begin to control it no matter how hard he had tried and that scared him to death. She was a part of him already and he didn’t know how to begin to deal with it. No one had ever gotten as close to him as she had or had worked their way as deeply into his heart as Diana had somehow managed to do.

“Are you sure you’re up to piloting the Javelin?” Superman suddenly asked from his seat behind Bruce, his concern evident.

“We’re about to find out, aren’t we?” he snapped in response, instilling absolutely no confidence in his teammates as they left the Watchtower behind them.

“Where to, Batman?” John asked from his seat behind Diana.

“Cairo,” he curtly responded.

“I can’t believe that he was that close to the Nubian compound and we didn’t even know it,” Diana said with an angry shake of her head as she stared at the rapidly approaching earth.

Bruce shared her anger and frustration, but didn’t comment any further about it. He was already furious with himself for not seeing it sooner. Right now, they needed to focus on stopping Ra’s before he infected any more people.

In a small way, he felt somewhat sorry for Talia, using her as bait to reel in her father, but it was her own fault for siding with Ra’s, for boarding the Watchtower with the intent to infect them all with the deadly virus. However, it was shooting Diana that infuriated him most of all. That was something that he’d never be able to forgive Talia for.

Batman glanced at Diana again, his eyes thankfully hidden behind the lenses of his cowl. She looked so frail sitting there beside him, her frame so thin…a shadow of her former self. He was almost afraid to touch her for fear she would break into a thousand pieces if he did.

J’onn had reassured him that now that her advanced healing and god-given gifts were no longer being suppressed by the virus, it should kick back in, allowing her to recover fully from the contagion that nearly took her away from him. He’d definitely feel better once she got more meat on her bones again.

He silently cursed to himself, knowing that she shouldn’t be here with him now. He should have knocked her out or tied her to her bed in the infirmary, but it was too late now. There would be no talking her into staying on the Javelin. He was going to have to keep a close eye on her.

“Stop worrying.”

The sound of Diana’s admonishing voice reached his ears over John and Clark’s conversation about baseball. He finally turned to look at her only to find her staring straight ahead. “I’m not,” he bit out, turning his focus back to the controls.

“You’re worried I won’t be able to pull my own weight down there, but I wouldn’t have come if I thought for one moment that I would endanger my teammates or the mission,” she firmly stated.

“You should stay on the Javelin and let us handle it,” he ground out, studying the instruments as they closed in on earth.

“Bruce, I may not be at full strength, but I can still help,” she attempted to reassure him. “You keep looking at me as if I’m going to break. I promise you won’t hurt me if you touch me.”

“I’m not looking at you like that,” he growled, wondering how she knew.

Diana chuckled softly as Clark and John argued about who was eventually going to win the World Series this year—the Detroit Tigers or the Chicago Cubs. “You think that cowl of yours hides everything,” she lightly teased him. “Whether you like it or not, I’m coming with you. I’m not about to let you go after one of your most dangerous enemies without me being there. You can try to push me away, grunt and growl and stamp your feet at me all you want, but I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to watch your back whether you like it or not so get used to it. You’re stuck with me, Bruce Wayne.”

She noticed the muscles in his jaw flex and tighten several times as he contemplated her words. She didn’t care whether he responded or not. She had said her peace, drew the line in the sand and he now knew where she firmly stood—with him, regardless of the risks and the brooding darkness that would always cloak his demeanor.

“You’re a stubborn pain in my ass, Princess,” he grumbled, refusing to make eye contact with her.

Diana smirked at him, her bright blue eyes sparkling with mischief. “I love you too, Bruce,” she replied, undeterred.

Bruce cast a sidelong look at her, his frown deepening and taking over his face. How did she always manage to do that to him, turning his fears around and casting such radiance into his darkness? She was his beacon, his guiding light at the end of a very long, very bleak tunnel.

He had the sudden, overwhelming urge to pull her into his lap and hold onto her for dear life, to kiss her breathless. She anchored him in a way that he hadn’t even anticipated, keeping him sane and grounding him when he felt himself beginning to slip away into the dark fury and ruthlessness of the Bat.

For that alone, he knew that he’d love her forever.

“We’re approaching Egypt,” Bruce announced. “I’m going to take us in low and cloak our approach. I’m sure that Ra’s already knows that we’re coming for him by now so be prepared for anything. He’s probably already planning to escape.”

Diana could tell from his tone of voice alone without even having to look at him that he was in full Bat mode now, the real Bruce tucked safely away. The time for talk was over. The time for battle had finally come.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

**_Cairo, Egypt; June 25th, 06:16 EST_ **

Landing the Javelin in a secluded spot, Batman immediately began shutting down the engines before unbuckling his harness, his focus on one thing. Turning to his teammates, he steeled himself against the sudden rising worry for Diana that was simmering beneath the surface. He needed to put every ounce of his focus and attention into stopping Ra’s and Talia now.

“You know what we need to do so let’s do this,” Batman rasped as he purposefully began to head towards the ramp of the Javelin. “Princess, you’re with Lantern. Superman, you’re with me. We go in five so be ready.”

“Batman,” Diana called after him, quickly following him outside into the hot sun. She missed the knowing smiles being shared between Clark and John at that moment as unharnessed their seatbelts and stood to follow them out.

Bruce stopped at the sound of her voice, his posture stiffening. “You’re not coming with me,” he bluntly stated, knowing what she was about to say. “I want you to help Lantern find the contagion and shut it down before anymore can be processed or exposed to the public.”

“You know that I’m fully capable of handling myself,” she snapped, ripping the sling off her arm and tossing it aside. “I’ve fought with injuries far worse than this.”

“Don’t remind me,” he ground out through clenched teeth. He was not in the mood to discuss this here nor did he want to talk about his feelings with her. “I need you with Lantern to make sure no more contagion is released. I want that lab and all of their research buried so deep no one will ever be able to find it again.”

Diana contemplated his orders for a long moment, clearly not happy about it as she met his heated glare with one of her own. She wanted to go with him for more than one reason. The most important reason was that she wanted to make sure that Bruce got out of this fight with Ra’s alive and in relatively one piece. 

Taking on Ra’s now in his current condition was like being forced to fight blindfolded with his arms tied behind his back. He was barely functioning as it was, pushing himself to his very human limits. She knew he didn’t like to be reminded of that fact, but the truth still remained that he was human whether he liked it or not.

The other reason was Talia al Ghul. Diana was more than anxious to go head-to-head with Bruce’s deranged ex-girlfriend. She didn’t take being shot like that very well, her Amazonian pride more than a little wounded. She should have been more aware of what had been going on around her on the Watchtower, been able to block that bullet if she had been paying better attention. 

She knew that she could easily blame it on the fact that she was still recovering from the virus, her reflexes slowed from the prolonged illness. It could also be blamed on that fact that her thoughts had been preoccupied with her teammate in the infirmary, but she wasn’t one to make excuses for her failures. Talia had gotten the jump on her, but she wasn’t about to let her get the upper hand on her ever again.

“Fine,” she finally bit out with frustrated reluctance, the scowl on her face telling him that it was far from fine...they were far from fine in that moment, but she wasn’t going to press it right now.

Batman looked past her to their two teammates who were pretending not to overhear their argument, but failed miserably. He took Diana by the hand as he glared at John and Clark. “Give us a minute,” he told them as he led her several feet away.

“It’s all right, Bruce,” she attempted to reassure him as they came to a stop, pulling her hand free from his. “Let’s just get this done so you can return to the infirmary on the Watchtower.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you to handle yourself, Diana,” he attempted to explain to her, his voice sounding weary even to his own ears. His gazed settled on the bandage on her shoulder, reminding him once again that she shouldn’t even be here in the first place. “It’s Ra’s al Ghul and Talia that I don’t trust. They’re wild cards, Princess…their actions unpredictable at best.”

“And that’s different from everyone else that we’ve ever gone up against since forming the League?”

He drew a deep breath, the man in him deciding to reveal things that the Bat never would. “I can’t handle seeing anymore happen to you right now, not after everything we’ve just been through together,” he said with a quiet restraint that startled her. “Please…just let me and Clark handle it this time.”

Diana’s shoulders slumped slightly with his plea, the tenderness that had invaded his voice diminishing a measure of her anger. She hadn’t realized how he’d been struggling with everything they’d been through, but appreciated his willingness to open up to her even just a little bit. The added ‘please’ hadn’t hurt either.

“All right—on two conditions,” she relented with stipulations.

“What’s that?” he asked, noticeably wary about what her conditions were going to be.

“You promise to come back to me in one piece,” she revealed, holding up one finger.

“I’ll do my best,” he promised her. “Next?”

“You return to the infirmary once this is over so J’onn can continue your breathing treatments,” she revealed, holding up a second finger.

He slowly shook his head, his lips thinning into a grim line of disagreement. “I’m sorry, but I can’t promise that,” he honestly admitted. “I’ve already been away from Gotham for far too long, but I will promise to continue treatments at home.”

She sighed heavily with his response, but knew that she wasn’t going to be getting much better than that out of the stubborn Bat. It was the closest she was going to get to what she wanted. “Fine,” she agreed after a long moment, her forefinger firmly poking him in his Kevlar covered chest, “but you will call me and John if you and Kal run into trouble…right, Kal?”

“I’ll make sure he behaves, Di,” Superman promised her from his position next to the Javelin.

Diana smiled, knowing that Superman had heard everything that they had been discussing. Bruce, on the other hand, growled low in his throat as he sneered at the Kryptonian. “Let’s just go already before Ra’s and Talia escape into another hole.”

Turning on her heel, Diana began to make her way back to their teammates who were waiting for them by the Javelin. “Let’s go knocks some heads together then,” she told them. “I have an obsessed ex-rival I need to pay back for shooting me.”

“It’s so good to see you back to your old self, Diana,” Clark told her with an affectionate smile as they fell into step together, his hand coming to rest on her right shoulder.

“It feels good to be back,” she confessed with a smile. “I was getting tired of being locked up in isolation.”

“I’m sure Batman didn’t make it any easier,” Superman quipped, glancing back over his shoulder at Bruce and John who were following several feet behind them. “He’s a pain in the neck when he’s feeling good. I can’t imagine what it was like being cooped up with him when he was sick.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Bruce growled as he glared at the pair before him.

Clark just chuckled as he fell into the easy familiarity that he and Diana always seemed to share with each other, much to Bruce’s vexation. Even though Clark did not pose a threat as a romantic suitor, it didn’t seem to quell his jealousy very much. He could feel his possessiveness of Diana rearing its ugly head even now as he studied them from behind.

He didn’t like the idea of Diana being put in danger again, especially in a situation that involved someone as deadly as Ra’s al Ghul, but he had no choice. He needed her skills and her meta strength to help John shut down the contagion operation while he handled Ra’s and Talia.

Sensing his thoughts and the way that Bruce was focused on a certain Amazon princess, John leaned in close to Batman. “Don’t worry; I’ll keep a close eye on her.”

“Thanks,” Bruce muttered, somewhat embarrassed that John had been able to read him so easily. He needed to do a better job of concealing his feelings when he was around Diana if he was going to try to make a relationship work with her once this was all over.

Batman quickly began to run an analysis of the area using the small computer in his hand, picking up on temperature readings. He tried to ignore the burning he was beginning to feel in his lungs, the tightness invading his chest. He was lasting longer between treatments which was a positive sign, but he knew that his previous breathing treatment wasn’t going to last nearly long enough for him to take care of Ra’s.

He had to end this no matter what the cost to himself entailed. He just hoped that Diana would eventually learn to forgive him someday if it cost him his life.

**_Cairo, Egypt; June 25th, 06:49 EST_ **

Talia staggered backwards as her hand swiftly moved to cover her cheek where her father had just struck her. She fumed inside at his lack of understanding or concern for her well-being, but she knew she shouldn’t have expected any different from him. It had always been his precious mission over his own flesh and blood.

She fought back the hot tears that formed behind her eyes, biting her bottom lip as she forced herself to meet her father’s furious glower. She knew she deserved his ire after having failed him like she had. If not for her, the entire League would be infected right now with the contagion, rendering them incapable of rescuing anyone else.

“You allowed your feelings for the detective to influence your judgment once again,” Ra’s bellowed, stalking towards her and striking her hard across the face once more. “Because of your stupidity, the detective and the Justice League will be showing up here any minute now in an attempt to stop us.”

“I was very careful,” she ground out as she wiped the blood trickling from the cut on her lip. “Do you really think that I am foolish enough not to cover my tracks when I escaped?”

“Do you honestly think that the detective didn’t anticipate your escape?” he demanded to know, astounded by her blind devotion to the detective. “Knowing him, the detective probably planned it all along.”

“He had no idea that I had even escaped from my cell until just before I transported back down to earth,” she maintained, chin lifted high in defiance. “Besides, he never once touched me. He talked to me through the plexi-glass barrier that kept me prisoner. There was no way he could have placed any sort of tracking device on me.”

“That doesn’t mean that he still didn’t manage to plant a tracer on you,” he growled as he circled her, his suspicious gaze roaming over her.

“I’m telling you,” she spat out with equally mounting fury, refusing to back down from him. “He never touched me!”

“You have too much faith in the detective,” Ra’s icily stated, reaching out and removing a tiny black tracer from just beneath the color of her shirt. “He’s following you here now as we speak.”

Talia stood in stunned silence as she stared at the tracer on the tip of her father’s forefinger, her throat suddenly dry and tight with anger. Her beloved had used her, allowed her to escape the Watchtower so she would lead him right back to her father.

She should have seen it all along, should have known that he would once again chose his cherished mission and that Amazon wench over her. It only served to further inflame her rage and jealousy, her heart racing with the tumult of emotions erupting inside of her. Her beloved had truly betrayed her.

“How…how could he?” Talia murmured, taking the small tracer from her father and crushing it beneath the heel of her boot.

She began to tremble with hot rage, thoughts of revenge and ending the Amazon who stole him from her forming in her mind. She hoped they arrived soon. She yearned for a battle with her beloved and Wonder Woman so she could prove to him once and for all that she was the one he should be with, not the Amazon.

“Ubu, put the compound on high alert,” Ra’s ordered, staring his daughter down. “We need to start moving our operation to the next location immediately before the League shows up.”

Ubu bowed his head before quickly leaving to begin the preparations to move their base. Talia looked up at her father through her eyelashes, ashamed that she had been so foolish to have believed that her beloved wouldn’t betray her. She swore to herself that she’d never make that same mistake again.

Alarms began blaring all over the underground compound, alerting them that intruders had already arrived. Ra’s looked up sharply, his expression hard like stone and his posture rigid with the barely contained rage coursing through him.

“Prepare for attack!” Ra’s ordered, turning his attention to his daughter. “This is your fault. You better be prepared to do whatever is necessary to rectify it, including ending your precious beloved’s life. I will not allow him to interfere in my plans again.”

“Yes, father,” Talia softly murmured, bowing her head in abject obedience. “I swear I will not fail you again.”

“You had better not, daughter,” he ground out as he turned away from her. “You had better not.”

**_East End of Ra’s Compound; June 25th, 07:13 EST_ **

“According to my readings, it looks like there is a very large number of people congregated down that way,” Batman revealed as they stood just inside the secret entrance they had found, guards incapacitated and lying in a rather large heap. “There are less people to the right so that will more than likely be the command center where Ra’s and Talia should be. Take out the lab making the virus and shut it down for good. Just don’t get infected.”

Batman glared at the princess with his last warning statement, his cowl doing little to hide who he was actually speaking to. Despite having a cure now, he didn’t want to see her in the infirmary again for at least the next five years if not more. Diana just frowned at him, her hands finding her hips in that typical regal stance that told him that he was pushing it and that he better move on if he knew what was good for him.

Ignoring her, Batman turned his focus to Green Lantern instead of riling her even more than she already was. “Contain as much of the virus as possible and keep it away from human contact. Once this place is cleared out, I want to bury that contagion under rubble so no one can ever get to it ever again. Superman and I are going after Ra’s and Talia. Let us know as soon as you’ve got your part done.”

“Roger that,” John replied with a nod of his head.

Diana gave Bruce one last look, a multitude of emotions conveyed in that brief moment. She quickly took off down the corridor that took her away from him and straight into the heart of danger. John swiftly followed, leaving Batman and Superman alone.

Superman put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, drawing his attention away from the spot where Diana had just been standing. “She’ll be fine,” he reassured him. “Let’s go get Ra’s.”

“Be prepared for anything,” Batman cautioned the Man of Steel, checking his computer again. “He’s one of the most dangerous men you’ll ever go up against.”

“You mean more dangerous than even you?” Clark asked, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.

“Who do you think I trained with?” he deadpanned. “I only learned from the very best.”

“Was that before or after you bedded his crazy daughter?”

Bruce sneered at him, the white lenses of his cowl narrowing to dangerous slits. “Can we please focus on the mission instead of my love life?” he snapped.

“Sure, but I just have to say that Diana is a much better choice than Talia al Ghul,” Superman told him. “You will find absolutely no one better in this world than Diana. Besides that, her father is safely locked away where he can’t get out.”

“Funny,” Batman stated, refusing to dwell on her at that moment. He needed to keep his attention on Ra’s and worry about her later if they were ever going to get out of this alive. He needed to keep Talia focused on him, not on finding Diana.

“If you hurt Diana, I swear I will rip your arms off and beat you with them…even if you are my best friend,” Clark warned him with a darkness rarely seen in the Kryptonian.

“I don’t want to hurt her,” Bruce bit out in irritation. “Why do you think I tried to push her away for so long? I love her too much to let her go this time.”

“Just so we’re both on the same page,” Superman replied with a smirk.

“Stop right there! Don’t do anything stupid!”

Batman and Superman both stopped at the sight of Ra’s guards standing several feet away, blocking the corridor and keeping them from getting to their leader. Each man had an assault rifle in hand and trained directly on them as if daring them to make a move.

“Allow me,” Superman offered, knowing that Bruce needed to conserve what little strength he still possessed in order to face Ra’s.

Using his heat vision, he concentrated on one of the guns, heating it and causing the guard to quickly drop it as it melted. Superman stepped in front of Bruce, swiftly moving from one guard to the next, melting each gun as bullets bounced harmlessly off his chest.

Unarmed, the guards spread out into attack formation, ready for a fight which Batman had been eagerly anticipating since figuring out Ra’s had been behind the contagion all along. He didn’t waste any time, racing towards them before they could even make the first move.

Within minutes, all twelve guards had been taken out, leaving Superman and Batman standing alone in the corridor. Clark looked up sharply from the man he’d just incapacitated, suddenly noticing how hard Bruce was breathing. “I think you should let me—”

“No!” Batman immediately growled, his wheezing becoming more pronounced as he struggled for his next breath. “I’m going after Ra’s…with or without you.”

“Fine,” Superman relented with a sigh of resignation, “but I refuse to take your lifeless body back to Diana. I’m not going to be left with a hysterical Amazon bent on revenge.”

“You won’t have to,” Batman ground out as he stepped over a body to continue down the corridor.

Superman just shook his head as he followed his friend, growing more concerned about Bruce by the moment. He was looking paler, his breathing more labored. If it came down to it, he was going to have to knock him out, forcing him to the sidelines while he took care of Ra’s by himself.

Bruce would be absolutely furious with him, probably would never forgive him or speak to him again, but at least he’d be alive and Diana wouldn’t hate him for letting Bruce die. It was a bad situation either way, neither choice he made was a good one, but letting Bruce die was definitely not going to happen…at least not today and not on his watch.

He followed closely behind him, using his x-ray vision to search for Ra’s or Talia before either of them could mount an attack. He wanted to prevent Bruce from being forced to fight as much as he possibly could. Facing Ra’s was physically and mentally taxing even on a good day without struggling to recover from a deadly contagion that very nearly cost him his life.

Even now, seeing Batman alive and relatively well before him, Clark still couldn’t suppress the shudder of dread knowing how close he’d come to losing his two best friends. There had been several circumstances over the years that could have claimed one or all of them, but this felt by far the closest to dancing with death as they had ever come. He just prayed they never came that close again.

“My readings show four people up ahead,” Batman muttered. “Stay sharp.”

“Always do,” Superman assured him.

Batman grunted in response, shaking his head in disbelief. “Whatever you say,” he grumbled. “Just leave Ra’s to me.”

It was Clark’s turn to grunt, clearly not in agreement with Bruce’s plan. “I’ll let you handle him for so long, but if I see he’s getting the upper hand, I’m stepping in and taking him down. I’m not going to let you kill yourself just because you’re stupid ego won’t allow anyone else to help you.”

“I don’t need help,” Batman bit out with sneer.

“Then why did you choose me to come with you instead of Diana?”

“Because she’s in no shape to even be here let alone going up against Ra’s al Ghul,” Batman snapped. “I knew if I got into trouble, she’d intervene to help me and get herself killed in the process. I can’t let her do that.”

“And you don’t think I’ll intervene…” Clark began, his voice abruptly trailing off. “Wait a minute…you don’t expect to come out of this alive, do you?”

Batman looked away from his friend, refusing to meet his intense glare. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to end this permanently, whatever the cost. No more people are going to get hurt or be infected because of Ra’s and Talia… _Diana_ is not going to be hurt again because of them.”

Superman grabbed his arm, forcing him to a stop. “What are you planning?” he angrily demanded, furious that Bruce was preparing for a suicide mission without telling him.

“To take Ra’s down,” Batman snarled, yanking his arm free from Clark’s hold as he entered the command center.

“You mean you’re not here to see me?” Batman and Superman both stopped in their tracks, spotting Talia standing several yards away with over a dozen of Ra’s best men racing into the command room to flank their leader. “And here I thought you had come all this way because you had changed your mind about that Amazon whore.”

Batman gritted his teeth at the sight of the woman who had helped to bring him so much pain and heartache over the last week, someone who had caused such mass chaos across the globe. He reached into his utility belt, switching his handheld computer for an explosive batarang.

He glowered at the woman that he had once cared about, his heart racing with the fury that tore through him. Talia had nearly taken Diana away from him. He was going to make her pay for that one way or another, no matter what it took. She could not be allowed to hurt anyone ever again.

**_West End of Ra’s Compound; June 25th, 07:43 EST_ **

Diana glanced behind her to find John following closely behind her, keeping a careful watch out for an attack. She couldn’t help the lingering worry for Bruce that permeated every fiber of her being, thoughts of him never far from her mind, but now more so than ever knowing he was going after Ra’s.

Her only form of comfort came in the fact that Superman was with him and would make sure that Bruce made it out of this alive. That was something that she couldn’t begin to handle. She had finally gotten him to talk to her about how he felt, admitting that he actually loved her in return. To lose him now would break her heart for good.

“John, we’ve got incoming!” she yelled as they turned a corner.

“I seem them!” he grumbled, annoyed they hadn’t been able to get any farther before having to stop and fight. 

He wanted to get to the contagion and shut it down so they could go help Batman and Superman. He had a very bad feeling about this, something that was nagging at him, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. All he knew was that he wanted to get everyone out of this one piece so they could celebrate the fact that he was going to be a father.

He tried to push the thought aside, but the excitement still lingered. While terrifying, he couldn’t deny that he’d never been happier in his life than he was now, knowing that he and Shayera had created a life together.

Using his ring, he directed a powerful beam of green energy directly at a couple of large guards coming directly at him, knocking them back hard against a nearby wall. They slumped to the ground, unconscious and out of commission.

Diana didn’t waste any time, diving headlong into battle with fists clenched tightly and a sneer of fury on her red lips. She ignored the throbbing pain that had settled into her shoulder as she took on one of Ra’s men after another, driving her fist into jaws and breaking weapons at lightning speed.

Her arms flew up in front of her, her bracers deflecting a rapid succession of bullets. It only served to further fuel her anger as she pushed her way deeper into the Ra’s lair, steeling her determination to bury this lab before any more people could be harmed.

Finishing off a man with an assault rifle, she turned back to look at John who was dismantling an AK-47. “I’m heading towards the lab to clear it out,” she told him.

“I’ll be right behind you,” he reassured her. “Let me move these guys to safety first.”

She nodded once before flying down the corridor towards the lab. The sooner they buried the lab, the sooner she could go help Bruce and Kal with Ra’s. She wasn’t leaving here until she’d had a chance at Talia al Ghul, teaching her a lesson that she wouldn’t soon forget.

She didn’t know why she was somewhat surprised when the corridor she was in opened up to a very large lab filled with hundreds of devices waiting to be deposited all over the world. Batman was rarely if ever wrong about anything and he had just been proven right once again.

There were several men working in hazmat suits, carefully handling the dangerous virus and preparing it for distribution. While disappointed that Talia was not among those in here, she was just as eager to deliver some much-needed justice to those who were helping Ra’s in his psychotic mission to destroy the world.

One of the men closest to her reached for something, but he didn’t have time to do anything with it as she removed her tiara, flinging it straight at him and hitting him directly in the forehead. He dropped like a rock, his weapon rolling free from his grip and coming to a stop at her red boot. It was a vial of the contagion.

Retrieving her tiara, she quickly put it back on before kneeling down to pick up the vial. She tucked the vial into the top of her boot before reaching for her lasso. She caught three more in her lasso, drawing them in close.

“How many devices are still out there?” she demanded to know.

“None,” one of the men quickly revealed, despite his best efforts. Unfortunately, her lasso demanded he tell her the truth. “We were going to send out ten more devices, but we were ordered to move the lab when you arrived.”

“How many more labs are there?”

“Only this one and the one you found in the Nubian Desert,” he told her. “There are no more that we know of.”

“What is Ra’s planning next?” she questioned them.

“We don’t know,” the man replied, shaking his head. “He doesn’t tell us more than we need to know.”

Diana frowned at them, more than displeased they didn’t know anymore than they did. She turned towards John who was corralling up the rest of men in the lab. “They don’t much of anything.”

“Let’s get them out of here so we can bury this lab,” he told her.

She turned her attention back to the three men in her lasso. “Where is Ra’s?” she demanded.

“Right behind you, Amazon.”

The sound of Ra’s booming voice resounded throughout the room like a crack of thunder, causing both Diana and John to turn to find the leader of the League of Assassins entering the lab from a secret entrance.

Diana’s heart began to pound in her chest at the sight of the man who had created so much chaos. She ground her teeth as she knocked the men out that she had trapped in her lasso before turning her full attention on the man that she was more than eager to stop before he could hurt Bruce again.

She began to make her way towards him as she wrapped up her lasso and secured it at her hip. “Lantern, get these people out of here,” she told him. “I’ll be right behind you.”

“Diana—” he began as he shook his head.

“Go, John!” she yelled. “I’ve got this.”

John didn’t like this situation in the least, but he knew that he needed to get these men out of the lab if they were going to bury it and the research that they had gathered so far on the contagion. He had promised Bruce that he would keep her safe, but it was going to be next to impossible with her determination to take down Ra’s al Ghul.

Ra’s smiled broadly as Green Lantern began to remove his men from the lab, his attention falling once again on the beautiful Amazon slowly stalking towards him like a predator eyeing her prey. “It’s quite impressive that you and the detective are still alive,” he told her. “I must say that I had assumed you were both dead by now, but here you are standing before me larger than life.”

“It’s over, Ra’s,” she stated, her fingers curling into her palms.

“I have to admit I am curious as to how you were able to come up with a cure so quickly,” he confessed as he clasped his hands behind his back, completely unruffled by the fact that he had a furious Amazon standing before him.

“Enough talk,” she spat out. “Give yourself up and I’ll let you walk out of here under your own power.”

Ra’s chuckled softly with her threat, obviously amused. “I have to say that I’ve become quite intrigued with you. It would take a remarkable woman to have so fully captured the attention of the detective. That’s not an easy feat to achieve. Not even my daughter was able to keep his attention for long.”

“I’m not crazy,” she countered, her blue eyes narrowing dangerously.

Ra’s stiffened minutely, slowly closing the distance between them. “Talia is not crazy,” he told her. “She is blinded by her love for the detective. There’s a difference.”

“Not in my book,” she said as she stared him down. “That’s close enough.”

“If you think what has happened to you before was dreadful, just wait till you see what I have in store for you now, Amazon,” he evenly stated as he reached for his dagger.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

_**_Ra’s Command Center, Cairo, Egypt; June 25th, 07:45 EST_**_

__Looking to his left, Superman immediately noticed a behemoth of a man coming straight towards him. The man could easily take on Batman’s nemesis, Bane, without a whole lot of effort, especially if the guy was trained by Ra’s as Clark suspected he was._ _

__“You take care of Talia and I’ll take care of that…thing…over there,” Superman told his friend, nodding towards the beast stalking towards him._ _

__“Careful,” Batman warned him. “Ubu is dangerous in his own right. I wouldn’t underestimate him if I were you.”_ _

__“Great…it has a name,” Superman deadpanned with a frown. “Just don’t die.”_ _

__Batman only grunted in response as he slowly stalked towards Talia, his fingers curling around the lightweight metal of the batarang in his gauntleted hand. His fierce glower darkened, the white slits of his cowl narrowing as he drew nearer, his attention never leaving her face as he carefully assessed the situation around him._ _

__Ra’s men were staying several feet behind her, telling him that they’d been ordered not to engage in a fight unless told to. That meant that Talia wanted to deal with him herself which was fine by him. It kept her away from Diana and her attention firmly set on him. What caused ice cold dread to coalesce and settle in his gut, though, was the fact that Ra’s was nowhere to be seen._ _

__Where was he and what was he up to now?_ _

__He wouldn’t have sent Talia to face off against him unless Ra’s had something bigger in mind that he hadn’t been able to determine as of yet, some twisted fixation or plan that he hadn’t been able to ferret out. He just hoped that he hadn’t missed something that he should have seen coming all along._ _

__Talia’s smile broadened as he drew closer to him like a black widow luring her prey into her deadly web. The burn of fury, however, still blazed darkly in her eyes, telling him that she had found the tracer he’d had Superman plant on her. He could see the sense of betray etched on her face, but he couldn’t have cared less._ _

__Her arms moved from hanging loosely at her sides, bending as her hands came to rest on her narrow hips. She tilted her head slightly to the side, cocking a single eyebrow as she studied him. “So you did come for me after all, my beloved,” she taunted in a sweet tone that was so incongruous with the hostility of her gaze. “Did the Amazon whore decide to toss you aside or did you decide she wasn’t woman enough for you?”_ _

__“You know I followed you here,” he rasped with a gravelly tone. “I let you escape the Watchtower. I used you to lead me to your father.”_ _

__She seemed to consider his words for a moment as she wrestled with her pride and anger. “Maybe I wanted you to find me,” she replied with an indifferent shrug of a shoulder, refusing to believe that she had been used as a pawn. “Even though you have repeatedly hurt me, I still think that I can save you…make you remember how much you once loved me.”_ _

__“Give up, Talia,” Batman icily stated with a sneering curl of his lip that hinted at the fury brewing within._ _

__“I will never give up on you, beloved,” she told him with stubborn determination. “We shared some good times together. I can help you rekindle the love for me that you so foolishly tossed aside as meaningless.”_ _

__“It’s over, Talia. We’ve been over for a very long time.”_ _

__Her head fell back, her chestnut brown hair tumbling down her back as shrill laughter spilled from her lips. “Oh, my beloved, we are far from over and my father…well, he is just beginning.”_ _

__“Where is Ra’s?” Batman demanded, ignoring the sounds of Superman and Ubu fighting. He knew that Clark could handle himself as long as Kryptonite wasn’t involved. “What is your father up to, Talia?”_ _

__“He is taking care of important business,” she ominously revealed as she grinned something wicked. “He has gone to personally greet your precious Amazon.”_ _

__Batman’s blood turned to ice water in his veins as he glowered at Talia with barely contained rage, sensing that she was telling him the truth. He fought ever single impulse that surged through his body in that moment to go after Ra’s, to keep him from getting anywhere near Diana. She was in no shape to be facing someone like him, not after being shot and especially not at half her usual strength._ _

__He knew that he couldn’t do that, though. He needed to stop Talia before he could go after Ra’s and keep him from hurting Diana. He thought he had sent her into a less dangerous mission by shutting down the lab, not throwing her right into the arms of the demon himself._ _

__No one was supposed to face Ra’s except for him. This was between him and the Demon’s Head._ _

__“What’s wrong, beloved?” Talia asked as she further closed the distance between them, swaying her hips in hopes of enticing him. “You look a little pale. Are you sure you’re feeling well enough to try to stop my father?”_ _

__“I will stop him, Talia,” Batman sneered, fighting to catch his breath. “You can either turn yourself in…or I will take you down myself.”_ _

__The smile on her face broadened, her eyes brightening slightly with his ultimatum. “I would love for you to try to take me down yourself. Your passion was always one of the things that I loved most about you.”_ _

__“I’m not here to play games with you, Talia,” he warned her, glancing at Ra’s’ men who were still standing several feet away. Their hands were resting on the hilts of their swords now, prepared for attack when she gave the word. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I won’t let you stand in the way of keeping your father from hurting anymore people.”_ _

__Her bottom lip protruded out slightly, a single finger coming to rest against the bat emblem on his Kevlar chest. “You know my deepest hurt as well as my greatest wish is that you and my father would see eye to eye,” she softly confessed, lightly tracing over the nocturnal symbol that represented what he had become…the duality that lived within his mortal body. It was what had kept them apart. “You and my father would be unstoppable together. You would be my husband, my father’s right hand and future heir.”_ _

__“Talia, you know that will never happen,” he told her, his voice losing a small measure of the heat that it had just held as memories of a love that he had once believed to have been so real flooded his mind._ _

__He realized now just how foolish that belief had been. Diana had opened his eyes to what real love was…what it could be if given a chance to blossom and grow. He found that he wanted that with Diana more than anything else in his life, even more than his next breath. He discovered that all he felt for the woman standing before him now was pity._ _

__He watched as the furious fire returned to her eyes, her jaw clenching tightly. She curled her fingers, slamming her right fist against his chest as her left hand moved to join the other. She continually slammed her fists against his chest, fighting back the tears that burned behind her eyes._ _

__“You belong to me!” she screamed, enraged. “You are mine…now and forever. Do you hear me? You…are…mine, not hers!”_ _

__Batman caught one of her wrists in his free hand, wrenching her arm away from him. His eyes quickly moved to Ra’s’ guards to make sure they hadn’t moved. They appeared to be on the verge of breaking whatever orders they’d been given, but they were holding themselves back...at least for now._ _

__At that moment, Ubu went flying past him and Talia, crashing into a stone wall and slumping to the ground. Ra’s’ men didn’t even seem to notice, their focus solely on Talia who was struggling to break free from Batman’s hold on her wrist._ _

__“I do not love you, Talia,” he hissed. “My heart belongs to someone else. The sooner you accept that, the easier it will be for you.”_ _

__She yanked her arm free, her breathing labored as she struggled to regain some semblance of control over her seething anger. “What has she done to you? Has she cast some spell on you to turn you against me like this? Convinced her so-called gods to force you into believing you love her?”_ _

__He knew that she was trying to stall him, to keep him from getting to her father and whatever he was planning to do with Diana. “I’m done talking to you,” he snapped, abruptly grabbing her wrist again and spinning her around._ _

__“Then I guess we truly are over,” she ground out, using her other hand to signal the guards._ _

__He pulled her hard against him, keeping her back pressed to his chest as his other arm brought his batarang up to her throat. Ra’s’ men immediately froze at the sight of their leader’s daughter trapped against the Batman’s chest with a weapon pressed dangerously against her throat._ _

__“Take him out, but do not kill him!” she screamed. “I want him alive!”_ _

__Batman leaned down, pressing his lips against her ear. “I don’t believe you have much of a leg to stand on right now, Talia. Call them off.”_ _

__Talia’s chest heaved as she struggled to break free from his hold on her, but the blade of his batarang only dug that much deeper against her throat. She could feel a thin trail of warm blood begin to trickle down her neck, disappearing beneath her shirt._ _

__She knew that her beloved’s greatest flaw was his absolute refusal to take a life, no matter whose life it was. He couldn’t bring himself to kill, including her. She knew that he had to feel something for her even now or he wouldn’t have tried to save her, but she couldn’t turn her back on her father. She just had to try to convince him that he was on the losing side, how blind his allegiance was to the Justice League and the world._ _

__Batman watched as Ra’s’ men carefully inched their way closer towards them, the steel of their blades glinting in the dim lighting of the command center. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Ubu trying to creep closer, already recovered from Superman’s hit._ _

__A blur of red and blue flew past him as the Man of Steel tackled Ubu to the ground, effectively taking him out of the equation. Batman’s attention returned to the men before him as they broke off into three separate groups, one unit coming straight towards him as the other two groups came in on either side of him._ _

__They were obviously willing to risk Talia’s life if they were getting into formation to attack. He could easily slit her throat and finish her off; ending this ludicrous obsession she had with him and keeping her from hurting anyone ever again._ _

__The dark thought had momentarily flitted through his mind earlier when he had seen Diana being shot by Talia, dropping to the ground and scaring the very life out of him. Despite those horrifying feelings, he knew he couldn’t do it. He refused to become the very monster that he fought to stop every single night in Gotham…not even for the woman who meant absolutely everything to him._ _

__“Tell them to back off,” he snarled low in her ear._ _

__“Why?” she taunted him with a smug smirk. “You won’t kill me. You don’t believe in killing. Give up, beloved, and I will tell my father to go easy on you. Swear your allegiance to my father, be my husband and you will be saved from what is coming.”_ _

__“I would rather take him down with me than ever swear allegiance to that madman in order to save myself,” he spat out with disdain dripping from his every word. “If I have to take this place down on both of us in order to stop him, I will.”_ _

__Talia’s body grew rigid against him, the full weight of his words crashing down on her. “You wouldn’t,” she uttered with a shocked gasp. “You wouldn’t risk dying with him in order to stop him.”_ _

__“Wouldn’t I?” he snarled. “You say you know me and love me more than anyone in this world. Would I not do whatever it took to end the man who has hurt so many people, including the woman I love most? My life is meaningless without her. Permanently stopping your father would protect her from him forever.”_ _

__“You…you can’t,” she stuttered, holding her hand up to stop the guards from coming any further. “You don’t mean it. You would never see her again.”_ _

__“That’s what real, sacrificial love is all about…but you will never understand what that kind of love is truly about,” he growled._ _

__Batman ignored the fierce burning that steadily invaded his lungs, making it more than difficult to breath. He did his best to hide the fact that he was not as strong as he normally was, allowing the batarang in his hand to keep Talia at bay. He knew he was drawing blood, but it was a necessary evil at that moment._ _

__If she knew he was not at full strength, she would attempt to get the upper hand on him and he couldn’t allow that to happen. He couldn’t become a prisoner, a liability when Diana needed him. He needed to end this standoff soon before he worsened to the point he was a detriment to his teammates or the mission._ _

__“Tell them to drop their weapons…all of them,” he ordered her, allowing the deep rasp of his voice and the sharp edge of his batarang to make his point._ _

__“You won’t get away with this, beloved,” she stated with a sneer. “I will not let you hurt my father.”_ _

__“And I won’t let your father hurt Diana or anyone else for that matter,” he ground out. “Do it, Talia!”_ _

__He heard a loud crash followed by Superman’s grunting response, obviously taking some sort of blow from Ubu, but he knew that it would probably be the last that Ubu would be able to do for a while. In a matter of moments, Ra’s men would be taken out of action with or without Talia’s order._ _

__He was just trying to buy Superman some time as he dealt with Ubu. Not to mention, he knew he was in no shape for much physical action at this point, his breathing capacity diminishing. He needed to save what little strength he had left for Ra’s._ _

__“Attack!” Talia yelled, clenching her teeth in preparation for her beloved’s next move._ _

__What happened next was not at all what she had anticipated._ _

__Batman threw his batarang with one hand, his other hand finding Talia’s carotid and applying firm pressure to it. Within seconds, she was limp against him as a guard was taken out with the batarang. He allowed Talia to slide down his body to the ground before reaching for an array of weapons from his utility belt._ _

__He ducked low as a sword nearly removed his head from his shoulders, kicking his leg out and knocking a guard off his feet. Batbombs skittered across the stone floor, exploding in a burst and incapacitating a handful of men._ _

__Batman growled low in his throat, his lips curling into a snarl as arms unexpectedly wrapped around him from behind. Those same arms that were attempting to crush the life out of him suddenly let lose, a howl of pain filling his ears. He spun on his heel to find Superman standing behind him, a guard lying at his feet._ _

__“It’s about…time,” Batman snapped, throwing an electrified bola as man coming from his right._ _

__“I let Ubu think he was getting the upper hand for a little bit,” Superman told him, turning and slamming a fist into another guard’s jaw. “Besides, I didn’t want to interrupt your reunion with Talia.”_ _

__Batman snorted in response, cursing his under his breath as he kicked a guard in the gut, sending him sprawling to the floor. Bruce leaned over, his hands finding his knees as he began to cough violently. He was in dire need of a breathing treatment, but it would have to wait. He needed to get to Diana._ _

__“Stay put,” Superman sternly ordered him._ _

__Batman didn’t have the breath to argue with him as Superman flew from one guard to the next in a matter of moments, knocking each of them out in a blur of red and blue and fists. He came to stand before Batman once again, folding his arms against his chest._ _

__“Now I know you’re not doing well,” Superman told him with a frown._ _

__“Why is that?” Batman choked out as he tied up Talia._ _

__“You actually listened to me,” Clark replied._ _

__“Come on,” Batman said as he straightened up, glancing to his left and spotting Ubu lying unconscious under some rubble. “We need to get to Diana and Lantern.”_ _

__“What about her?” Superman asked, glancing down at Talia._ _

__“Leave her,” he stated. “Ra’s is after Diana.”_ _

__**_West End of Ra’s Compound; June 25th, 08:01 EST_ ** _ _

__Diana’s arms flew up in front of her face as Ra’s pulled a dagger from his robe, her bracers blocking his assault. She shoved him back with a grunt, more than annoyed by her lack of strength. Ra’s only stumbled back a few steps instead of flying across the room like he normally would have if she’d had full use of her powers._ _

__Ra’s smiled darkly as he stared at her, realization dawning on him. “You lost your strength,” he stated, more to himself than to her. “The virus somehow managed to negate your powers. That’s very interesting indeed.”_ _

__“I may not have my full strength, but I can still take you down,” she spat out, hands curling into fists as her blue eyes narrowed dangerously. “You will not be allowed to hurt anyone else for a very long time.”_ _

__Ra’s began to slowly circle his way closer to her again as he chuckled at her threat, tightening his grip on the hilt of his long-bladed dagger. His arms rested at his sides, appearing non-threatening despite the deadly weapon in his grip. His mind was racing, though, with plans and possibilities as he further assessed his beautiful opponent._ _

__“I can tell you have a very fiery spirit within you,” he complimented her, his voice smooth and betraying his fascination. “You would make a fine addition to my League of Assassins. I can promise you untold wealth and glory if you were to join me. You will fight by my side, enjoy all the riches of life that I can offer you.”_ _

__Diana could hardly believe what she was hearing. Ra’s al Ghul was actually attempting to recruit her to his side. It was her turn to laugh in response. “I come from an island of pure paradise. There is absolutely nothing that you could possibly offer me that I do not already have.”_ _

__“You could rule the world by my side,” he countered, refusing to give up. She had begun to intrigue him from the moment he had seen her with the detective in the Nubian compound lab. “Your endurance, your resilience and spirit would be most valuable in my quest.”_ _

__“I am not a puppet with strings for you to pull for your benefit,” she ground out with growing fury._ _

__She fought against the overwhelming urge to fly straight at him and end this now, but, if there was one thing that she had learned from Bruce, it was not to let her anger rule logic. He was up to something, trying to draw her in to him again for some unknown reason. She needed to figure out what he was up to._ _

__He smirked at her, his dark eyes glinting with mounting admiration the longer he talked to her. “I can see why the detective is so taken with you,” he told her, his gaze raking over her. “He has always been drawn to strong, confident women.”_ _

__“Like your daughter?” she bit out with disdain._ _

__“My Talia is strong and confident, but she has her flaws,” he replied, circling her like a lion circles its quarry, his intense gaze never leaving her._ _

__“Like being an obsessed maniac?”_ _

__Ra’s didn’t seem the least bit upset by the offensive jab at his daughter, appearing to accept it as a simple fact that could not be changed. “She is very passionate when it comes to the detective, devoted to the ones that she loves.”_ _

__“I am too, but I don’t shoot people to get what I want,” she snapped._ _

__His dark eyes came to rest on the bandage covering her upper chest and shoulder, deciding to poke and prod the Amazon to see what made make her lose her focus. “Talia and the detective were quite in love at one time. He adored her and she him. I’m afraid shooting you was an unfortunate consequence of her fierce adoration for him.”_ _

__“Unfortunate consequence?” she repeated in stunned disbelief, ignoring his reference to Bruce’s one-time love for Talia. “Your daughter needs serious help and I’m sure being around you isn’t helping that fact.”_ _

__“Talia is fine,” he angrily retorted, his emotions beginning to break through. “She just needs to learn to control her emotions a little better. You, on the other hand, have complete and total control. Very impressive indeed.”_ _

__“Time for talk is over,” she sneered at him. “Give yourself up and I’ll try not to hurt you too much.”_ _

__Ra’s couldn’t contain the laughter that rose in his throat. “I do not believe you could hurt anyone with as weak as you are at present. I have seen what you can do, Wonder Woman. If you could overtake me, you would have done it by now.”_ _

__“Why don’t we find out just how weak I really am?” she asked with a smirk as she swiftly reached for her lasso, throwing it at him._ _

__The golden lasso wrapped around the dagger, taking him by surprise. She yanked hard, pulling his weapon out of his hand. He didn’t wait for her to do anything more as he quickly drew his sword as he closed the distance between them._ _

__The corners of Diana’s lips curled slightly, more than ready to put an end to the talking and get down to fighting. She had plenty of pent up anger and frustration, jealousy and a burning need to deliver justice for those that Ra’s had hurt with his dangerous virus._ _

__She dodged the sword’s blade, spinning and delivering a powerful kick to Ra’s’ back. It wasn’t nearly as strong as it normally would have been, but it was enough to unbalance the Demon’s Head. He kept a tight grip on the hilt of his sword as he righted himself, whirling on his heel with a growl._ _

__“Impressive, Amazon, but not impressive enough,” he heatedly stated. “I think it’s time to teach you a lesson about who is best and who is in charge here.”_ _

__“Bring it, little man,” she derisively responded with a smirk._ _

__Ra’s snarled as he lunged at the Amazon, attacking with a rapid succession of sword strikes. She lifted her braces, doing her best to block the steel blade that came dangerously close to cleaving her in two more than once._ _

__She could feel the freshly knitted tissue of her wound ripping apart, blood quickly seeping through her bandages. Fatigue began to invade her body, her muscles protesting against the exertion she was placing on them. Her magical healing ability struggled to keep up with the trauma and the energy she was exerting, but it was more than difficult given her current weakened condition._ _

__She knew she was going to have to do something soon before he sliced her arm off. As he momentarily pulled back to start again, she slammed her forehead against his, knocking him back several feet. Stunned, Ra’s shook his head, trying to shake off the pain that rattled his skull and disoriented his mind._ _

__She didn’t wait for him to regain his senses, flying straight at him with her fist poised for battle. Noticing the blood that soaked her bandage, he brought the hilt of his sword up, slamming it directly into her wounded shoulder and halting her attack._ _

__Diana’s head fell back as she cried out in pain, dropping to her knees as she gripped her shoulder. She clenched her teeth, breathing labored as she looked up to see Ra’s stalking towards her with a smug grin on his lips, his sword fisted in both hands._ _

__A dozen of Ra’s men entered the lab at that moment with swords drawn, more than prepared to protect their leader if needed. She was greatly outnumbered, but it only spurred her on, fed her warrior spirit and the thirst for battle that had been nurtured in her soul since she was old enough to hold a sword._ _

__With a dark scowl on her face, she waited until Ra’s drew closer, allowing him to come to a stop directly in front of her. He sneered down at her, panting as he held his sword in both hands above his head. “I’m disappointed, Amazon. This was far easier than I had imagined it would be. Pity you decided to side against me instead of with me.”_ _

__She bowed her head as if in defeat, allowing him to believe that he had the upper hand on her. In that tense moment, she focused her mind, her spirit on everything around her—the sound of Ra’s’ heavy breathing, the pounding of her own heart, the guards as they softly inched their way closer to her, the stillness of the air around her._ _

__That’s when she heard two sets of boots approaching from the far side of the room, knowing without looking that it was Batman and Superman. While she appreciated their desire to help her, she didn’t need it as the air shifted ever so subtly, telling her the sword’s blade was about to come down on her._ _

__In that split second, she came up hard with both fists clenched tight, pouring every single ounce of strength that she could possibly gather into that blow. Her fists connected like steel under his chin, causing his head to violently snap back._ _

__His sword narrowly missed piercing her heart, the weapon slipping free from his grasp as he flew backwards, landing hard on the ground. Diana slumped back down on her knees, breathing hard as she fought against the dizziness that swept through her with the blood she was losing._ _

__“Diana!” Batman yelled as he raced towards her, forced to a stop before he could get to her by Ra’s’ men who were racing towards them to intercept them._ _

__Fury tore through him like a powerful bolt of lightning as he drew a batarang, taking out the guard before he could reach him. He needed to get to Diana, get her out of here and back to the Watchtower. He fired his grappling gun, allowing it to pull him up and away as another of Ra’s’ men dove for him. He swung through the air, the heels of his boots planting hard into another guard as more poured into the room._ _

__Superman took to the air as well, but staying only a few feet off the ground. He flew straight at a handful of guards, using his fists to take them out one by one. A green energy beam flew past his head as he tackled another man to the ground, Green Lantern stopping a guard who was about to fire his semi-automatic rifle at the Man of Steel._ _

__Diana got up onto her feet, more than determined to help in the fight. She began to make her way to Ra’s who was already beginning to come around, rolling onto his hands and knees as he fought to regain his senses. His jaw throbbed mercilessly, telling him it was likely broken. He was going to enjoy making the Amazon pay for that._ _

__Before Diana could reach him, she felt the blade of a sword being pointed into her back. “Turn around, Amazon.”_ _

__Diana slowly turned to find Talia al Ghul standing behind her with sword pointed directly at her throat. “Not going to shoot me this time?” Diana asked, glaring at the shorter woman before her._ _

__“I should just slit your throat right here,” Talia ground out, her chest heaving as she glowered at the princess. “You hurt my father and took my beloved from me.”_ _

__“Put the sword down, Talia,” Diana warned her, ignoring the pain that lanced through her shoulder and the exhaustion that threatened to drag her to the ground._ _

__Talia pulled the sword back from the side of Diana’s neck, using the point of it to dig into her chest instead and drawing blood. “I’m not about to let you leave here alive,” she spat out. “My beloved belongs with me, not you. What have you done to him to make him think that he’s in love with you?”_ _

__“I haven’t done anything to Batman,” Diana insisted, wincing slightly as the blade began to dig deeper into her chest beneath her left collarbone. She steeled herself against the pain, grinding her teeth as she fought the urge to pummel this woman into dust. “It’s you that is delusional, not him. Your father has blinded you to reality.”_ _

__Diana noticed the slightest flicker in Talia’s eyes. She swiftly ducked, narrowly avoiding Ra’s dagger. She turned, her leg coming up and connecting with his gut. At the same time, she threw her elbow back, slamming it into Talia’s chest, causing her to stumble back and knocking the wind from her lungs._ _

__Ra’s al Ghul gritted his teeth as set his sights on the Amazon again, revenge coursing through his veins. “Ra’s!”_ _

__The sound of his name forced the Demon’s Head to stop, whirling to find the detective standing behind him. His lips thinned into a grim smile, his eyes narrowing with pleasure. “Detective,” he darkly greeted him. “It’s been far too long.”_ _

__“Not long enough,” Batman rasped darkly, fighting to keep his breathing even despite the overwhelming desire to gulp in more air. “It’s over, Ra’s. Drop the sword.”_ _

__“It’s far from over,” Ra’s countered, glancing out of the corner of his eye. He spotted Ubu who was standing over one of the computers. Ra’s nodded his head at him before turning his attention back to the detective. “I’ve had the pleasure of spending some time with your Amazon. She’s a very remarkable woman. I wouldn’t mind spending some time alone with her again. I’m sure I could convince her to join me with a little time and prodding, to serve at my side.”_ _

__Batman’s jaw tensed, the muscles ticking with the rage that clawed at him. There was no way he was going to let Ra’s anywhere near Diana again. His heart was pounding against his chest wall, knowing that Ra’s was stalling. He was up to something here._ _

__That’s when the first explosion filled one of the tunnels that led into the lab, the ground shuddering beneath his boots. “Get out of here!” Batman yelled to his teammates, wheezing with each breath he drew. “The place…is set to blow!”_ _

__Talia smirked at Diana, pointing her sword directly at her. “I’m going to bury you here beneath the rubble. Then, my beloved and I will be together forever.”_ _

__Having had enough of her delusional ranting, Diana flew straight at her, her fist struck her jaw in bone-jarring blow. Talia went down hard, the sword clattering on the ground as it slipped from her hand. Diana didn’t have time to enjoy the sense of pleasure that flooded her at that moment as Ubu plowed straight into her, his shoulder connecting with her torso and slamming her hard into the ground._ _

__Lantern and Superman swiftly began collecting the guards, determined to save as many people as possible before the whole cavern came crashing down on top of them. Another explosion rocked the lab, rubble breaking free and raining down from the ceiling._ _

__“Time to go,” Ra’s stated, tipping his head to Batman. “Till we meet again, detective.”_ _

__Batman fought the intense desire to go after him, knowing that he had to get Diana out here. Turning, he found her lying on the ground, Ubu racing towards an unconscious Talia. Bruce ran to her side, kneeling beside her._ _

__“Can you walk?” he asked, fearful of the extent of her injuries._ _

__“I’m all right,” she attempted to reassure him as she allowed him to help her up onto her feet. She spotted Ra’s and Ubu passing through a hidden exit, Talia thrown over Ubu’s shoulder. “We need to get Talia and Ra’s.”_ _

__“No, we need…to get out here…now,” he growled, breathing hard as he grabbed her hand, pulling her with him._ _

__A succession of explosions rocked the room as Batman and Wonder Woman quickly followed Superman and Green Lantern from the cavern, the ceiling collapsing on the lab and permanently sealing it in its own private tomb._ _


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

**_Cairo, Egypt; June 25th, 09:58 EST_ **

Batman followed Diana and his teammates up the ramp into the Javelin, his breathing becoming more ragged by the second. His worry, however, didn’t lie within himself or the fact that he could only draw very shallow breaths now. His sole concern lay with the Amazon princess in front of him.

She had nearly died for the third time in less than three days. He didn’t think that he could take much more right now, his heart not able to withstand any more.

“We’ll take care of piloting the Javelin back to the Watchtower,” Superman told them as he and John headed to the front of the plane. “You and Diana just rest here in the back of the Javelin for now.”

“Thanks, Kal,” Diana replied before turning to face the Dark Knight, her expression abruptly turning stern. “Sit.”

Bruce didn’t bother to argue with her, his legs making the decision for him as they suddenly gave out on him. He collapsed into a nearby chair in the back of the Javelin, the back of his head coming to rest against the headrest as he struggled to catch his breath.

Diana knew he was barely hanging on, causing her fear to swell as she turned away from him to hide the extent of her worry. She forced herself to focus on preparing a breathing treatment for him like J’onn had taught her to, hoping that it would be enough to hold him until they could get him back to J’onn. 

Of course, it wasn’t like she was going to be able to make him stay there once they got to the infirmary. Hera knew it had been a miracle as it was that they were able to force him to stay there for long as he had already. They were pressing their luck if they actually thought he would willingly go back now, let alone staying there for any length of time.

Batman watched her as she prepared his treatment, his cowled gaze leisurely roaming over her perfect form, starting with her red boots and gradually working his way up over her feminine frame that he was aching to explore with hands and mouth.

Instead of wanting to run away from her after everything they had just been through over the last week, he found he only wanted to pull her closer, to hold her and never let her go. It surprised him that he would feel that way since he’d been scared of letting her into his life at all, so afraid of losing her to his enemies. 

That very thing had almost happened more times than he cared to think about in the last three days and he had survived it, had managed to stay in control of his rage. Most importantly, though, she had survived it all, proving to him all over again how incredibly strong and capable she was despite his worst fears.

Turning back towards him, Diana handed him the nebulizer as she settled into a chair directly across from him. He wearily pushed his cowl back off his head, allowing it to rest against his back as she helped him put the breathing mask on.

His eyes momentarily fell closed as he readily breathed in the medicine. He could already feel his lungs begin to relax, the burning in his chest starting to diminish somewhat. He knew that he had pushed himself harder than he should have, but it couldn’t have been helped.

Lifting his gaze to the Amazon sitting before him, he was taken aback to find her eyes rimmed red and shining with tears that she was refusing to allow to fall. Without a second thought, he pulled off his gauntlets before reaching for her hand, lacing his fingers securely with hers.

Nothing was said as he sat there just holding her hand, each losing themselves in the other’s gaze that spoke volumes about what they were both feeling at that moment. There would be time for talking later. Right now, they just needed to be, to take comfort in each other’s presence and proximity though both wished they could be a lot closer than they were.

A tear unexpectedly slipped free despite Diana’s best efforts, slowly sliding down her cheek that was already beginning to bruise from Ubu slamming into her. With his free hand, he reached out to cup the side of her face, his thumb gently caressing her cheekbone.

She immediately melted into his touch, her eyes falling closed as she drew a soft, shuddering breath. She had been so afraid she was going to lose him in that compound—lose him to Talia, lose him to Ra’s, lose him to his unrelenting need to protect everyone but himself.

He had never said it, but she had known in her heart that the reason he had sent her with John was because he had been planning on taking the underground cavern down on himself and Ra’s if it had come to that. Thinking about it now caused a couple more tears to break free, knowing what he would have done in order to stop Ra’s permanently.

The feel of fingers tips so gentle against her cheek caused her eyes to open, stunned to find him leaning in close to her. He wanted to kiss her breathless, to feel her against him, but they would have to wait yet again. This lingering contact would have to do for now.

Her hand moved to cover his on her cheek as she smiled softly at him. Exhaustion forced him to sit back in his chair with a grunt of resignation, his hand slipping from her face as his eyes fell closed once more. She squeezed his hand in understanding as she too leaned back in her chair, content to just hold his hand for now. 

That was enough for the moment, especially after everything they had faced together.

**_Watchtower; June 25th, 12:14 EST_ **

Diana sighed heavily as she left the infirmary, running her fingers through her long, raven hair as she wearily made her way towards her quarters. It was more than difficult putting one red boot in front of the other, the events of the last twenty-four hours draining even her.

After returning to the Watchtower, Superman had gone back to his quarters to get some much needed sleep while John had gone directly to the infirmary to see Shayera. Batman had ordered her there as well, gracing her with his fiercest, threatening glower to date.

She wasn’t in the mood to put up much of an argument with him at that point, mostly because she could still feel the warm sticky ooze of blood from her wound that had been torn open. He had walked with her to the infirmary in complete silence, his focus straight ahead until they’d reached the doors to the med bay.

As soon as she entered, Batman had given her some lame excuse about needing to file reports and check on something in his lab before swiftly bolting from the infirmary, leaving her standing there more than a little perturbed with him. He needed to be there far more than she did and he had just taken off like a phantom, there one moment and gone the next.

Even now, she was still mad at him, knowing that the one breathing treatment that he’d had on the Javelin on their return trip wasn’t going to be enough. He needed far more attention than that, but leave it to him to decide otherwise. It had taken everything inside of her not to chase after him and drag him back to the infirmary.

After stepping foot in the med bay, she’d practically been accosted by J’onn who had appeared out of the thin air that Bruce had just vanished from, making her suspicious that the whole thing had been planned by the pair of superheroes.

Knowing Bruce, he’d probably mentally contacted J’onn to meet them at the med bay door and not let her leave while Batman was already plotting his own escape. She swore when she got her hands on him, she was going to make him wish he had stayed in the infirmary.

What was worse was the fact that he’d just disappeared without a word or a good-bye, an “I love you” or even a “see you later”. They just had so much that they needed to talk about, but it seemed like every time she thought they had a chance to finally talk, something came up or Bruce just simply disappeared.

She was beginning to feel as though he was regretting his decision to tell her how he felt. It wouldn’t be uncharacteristic of him to suddenly run away from her because she had gotten too close. Hera knows he’d done it dozens of times before, leaving her wondering what she had done wrong.

Diana closed her eyes against the unexpected rush of sorrow that washed over her, trying her best not to jump to any conclusions, but it was more than difficult with their past track record glaring her right in the face. If he was truly going to pull away from her this time, she wasn’t going after him. She couldn’t do this song-and-dance, this tug and pull only to be abruptly shoved away when things got too scary for him.

She understood his panic, his fears and even his myriad of issues that he daily struggled with, but her heart just couldn’t take it…not again. She may be a warrior, but she was still a woman with a heart that could be broken.

While in the infirmary, she had watched John as he had sat on the edge of Shayera’s bed, holding her hand as they had talked quietly while J’onn tended to her shoulder. Even from a distance, Diana couldn’t help but notice how strong their love had become over time, even more so now than when they had initially gotten together. 

She wanted that with Bruce more than she had wanted anything in her life, but he had to want it too…want her enough to try to make a relationship work. She didn’t doubt that he had feelings for her now, but it was whether or not he would let his walls come down and allow her a place in his heart. 

Approaching her quarters, Diana punched in the security code, the door sliding open and bidding her entrance. She angrily shoved thoughts of Bruce aside, deciding to dwell on her problems with him later. Right now, all she wanted was a hot shower, her bed, and several hours of uninterrupted sleep.

She found her quarters dimly lit…and empty. She put her hands on her hips in frustration, immediately regretting the movement as pain pierced through her left shoulder once more. She had subconsciously been hoping that maybe Bruce would be in here waiting for her, but that hope was swiftly dashed by the silence and solitude that greeted her.

She slowly began to strip off her boots and uniform, careful of her injury. She wanted it to heal as quickly as possible so she’d be ready for Talia and Ra’s when they finally reappeared. She was more than anxious for a rematch with both of them, but especially with Talia. She relished the chance to teach her a lesson that she wouldn’t soon forget.

She was still furious that they had managed to escape like that. Her warrior spirit had wanted to chase after them, but Bruce had pretty much dragged her out of the compound. Her concern for him had also forced her to leave instead of hunting down Ra’s and Talia.

She made her way towards her shower, more than ready to wash away the grime before crawling into bed to sleep. As badly as she wanted to see Bruce, sleep was rapidly becoming the greater need at the present moment.

She didn’t waste any time in the shower washing her hair or cleaning her up, drying off and wrapping her long hair up in a towel before opening her bathroom door. A thick cloud of steam preceded her exit as she secured another towel around her body with a bottle of lotion in hand.

Turning towards her bed, she was startled to find a note lying on her pillow. She anxiously looked around her room in stunned disbelief, knowing that it hadn’t been there when she had first come in. She was once again disheartened to find him not here with her, but his scent faintly lingered in the air telling her that it definitely was him.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Diana took the folded piece of paper and opened it.

_Diana,_  
Meet me in the cave Friday at 7pm.  
B

Diana held the note in her hands, reading it and searching expectantly for any sort of clue as to what he was up to. Friday night. That was three days away. How in the name of Hera was she going to be able to wait that long to see him?

She angrily crumpled it up; throwing it into the trash can beside her desk on the other side of the room. Why was he always the one to dictate things between them, when they would meet or whether they would pursue a relationship or not?

Her Amazonian pride blistered with indignation and hurt, her chest tightening with frustration. If he truly wanted her, then why wasn’t here with her now? Why hadn’t he stayed here instead of slinking off after leaving a stupid note behind?

She squeezed her eyes shut as her hands came to rest on either side of her on the bed. Her fingers curled into the duvet beneath her as she tried to rein-in her anger. Too much had occurred over the last week, too many emotional blows with twisting ups and downs. She needed to remember that they both needed a little time right now to recover, to heal from what they had been through.

Pulling the towel free from her hair, she stood to her feet, removing the towel from her body before pulling back the covers and wearily crawling into her bed. She snuggled deep under the covers, releasing a low sigh. As sleep began to claim her, she decided this was his last chance. If he pushed her away again on Friday night, then she was done. She was walking away from him for good and not looking back.

**_Batcave; June 28th, 18:47 EST_ **

Bruce finished typing in the last of his notes on an on-going case that he’d resumed investigating since his return home three days ago. Alfred had done an excellent job of helping him with his recovery, but sleeping for a full fifteen hours straight had turned out to be the best medicine in the end despite the horrible nightmares that had plagued his sleep. Nightmares of Diana being shot intermingled with the familiar nightmares of his parents’ murder, haunting him and fueling his fears.

He was finally feeling better physically, more like his old self once more though he still had some weight to regain. He was already down to breathing treatments three times a day and was certain he’d be done with them altogether by the end of next week. Things were beginning to get back to normal around here, which he was more than thankful for.

Now, he just had one more thing that he needed to take care of before everything would finally be set firmly in place and life could go on as usual, the search for Ra’s and Talia al Ghul could continue.

“Master Bruce,” Alfred addressed him, clasping his hands before him as he came to stand behind his chair. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing, sir?”

“I hope so, Alfred,” Bruce softly replied with a small frown.

“I hope too,” Alfred agreed with a nod of his head. “If you do this, there is not going back or changing your mind.”

Bruce’s frown turned into a dark scowl of annoyance as his fingers curled into fists. He’d been debating all of this ever since he awoke two days ago, angry with himself and the neuroses and reservations that constantly besieged him. “Don’t you think I know that?” he bitterly asked.

“I just want you to be absolutely certain because you have a very beautiful heart that you hold in your hands,” he reminded him. “Just don’t forget that.”

“I know,” Bruce evenly replied, refusing to meet his surrogate father’s intent gaze as he continued to stare at his computer screens, doing his best to control his emotions.

“Miss Diana should be here in a couple of minutes,” he said with sigh. “Let me know if you require anything else, sir.”

“Thank you, Alfred.”

Bruce sank back in his chair with a sigh as Alfred took his leave, his thoughts about what he had to do next swirling around in his mind. It was going to be one of the hardest things that he’s ever had to do. Glancing down at the clock at the corner of the computer for the hundredth time, he raked his fingers back through his black hair as he fought against the nervous flutter that had settled in the pit of his stomach.

He swore he could still smell her heavenly scent from being in her quarters three days ago when he had left that note on her pillow. It had taken everything inside of him to leave her room, especially knowing that she was just a few feet away in the shower, but that had definitely not been the time for them to talk and that’s what they needed to do now more than anything else. Talk.

They had both been too keyed up when they had returned from Egypt, too exhausted and in need of time to recover. It would have only led to more than they were both ready to explore, unable to contain the intense passion that simmered between them just beneath the surface. He wanted to proceed with this with a clear head, in control of his emotions instead of letting his emotions control him.

He had kept close tabs on her since waking after his fifteen hour nap, checking in with J’onn about her injuries and checking the security feeds on the Watchtower to make sure she was behaving herself while he tried to catch up on things with Wayne Enterprises and open cases in Gotham.

Bruce just hoped that she came tonight so they could settle things between them once and for all. He knew that leaving a note on her pillow while she showered would no doubt incite her anger with him, but he didn’t want her to think that he had just left the Watchtower with little thought of her. At the same time, he had wanted to avoid her coming down here before he was truly ready for her.

He’d had some things that he had needed to sort out for himself before he saw her, to get a plan firmly set in mind before he talked her.

The sound of the transporter broke him from his reverie, causing the flutter in his stomach to intensify tenfold. It still amazed him that she was the only one who had ever been able to do that to him, causing him to feel flustered with just a glance or a smile, a passing touch or just by doing nothing at all sometimes.

Standing to his feet, Bruce drew a deep, fortifying breath as he steeled himself, the tension in his shoulders seeping into every muscle in his body. He could easily take on the worst of Gotham, completely in his element fighting Joker or the Riddler. Just the thought of simply talking to the beautiful Amazon made everything inside scream at him in panic, to run away and never look back.

He kept to the shadows of his sanctuary, watching as she appeared on the transport pad. A soft gasp escaped as he fully took her in her appearance. She was wearing a blue strapless sundress trimmed in white, one that gave him a significant view of her shapely legs.

Diana looked around as she slowly began to descend the steps from the transport pad, confusion and annoyance gracing her face. She did her best to hide the sudden, unwanted wave of nervousness that coursed through her. She didn’t want to admit that she was actually worried about what Bruce was going to do or say tonight. She had gotten him to come so far, but now she feared that it may have been too far, too fast for him.

She anxiously hooked a raven strand of hair that had somehow come loose from her low ponytail that flowed down her back. She tried to grasp hold of the glimmer of hope that this wasn’t going to turn into the worst night of her life as she scanned the dimly lit cave for any signs of Bruce.

She thought she heard a soft gasp, but dismissed it as just excited anticipation as her curiosity began to get the better of her. She tentatively began to make her way towards the large platform where his computer desk sat, wondering what had become of the elusive Dark Knight when he unexpectedly appeared from the shadows like a wraith, causing her to abruptly stop in her steps.

Diana stared at him for a long moment as he stood there at the edge of the cave’s dark shadows, staring back at her with an almost predatory look in his eyes. He was dressed in khakis and a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his hands in his pants pockets. 

She felt a wave of relief drift over her as she gazed at him. It had been three days and yet it had felt like an eternity since she’d last seen him. He looked better than he had a long time, the color returning to his cheeks.

She waited with baited breath, afraid to even breathe for fear he’d disappear or flee from her presence. She felt almost intimidated by the sheer intensity of his piercing blue-eyed stare, the way his gaze continually raked over her as if trying to determine whether she was real or an apparition.

And then, before she could even begin to register it, he was moving towards her with measured, resolute steps. His hands slipped from his pants pockets as he drew near, finding purchase instead as he took hold of her face in his firm grip. His lips were on were hers in less than a heartbeat after that, soft yet insistent…a combination of pent-up emotions that were weary of being trapped in the dark and more than determined to be exposed to the light no matter the consequences.

Stunned by his passionate greeting, Diana’s lips spontaneously parted, Bruce instantly taking that as an open invitation to taste and explore her at will. His tongue was hot and probing, anxious and yet barely contained in its heated desire. 

It stirred a deep-seated longing within her that had withstood far too many battles of the will with him, so many tragedies and not nearly enough pleasure. She hoped that would all change tonight as her fingers moved to grip his short black hair, responding to him as she tilted her head and deepened the kiss.

She could sense the barely restrained passion in his kisses that were stealing her breath and making her lightheaded, could feel the tension in the corded muscles of his neck and shoulders as he struggled to remain in control of his hunger as he continued to devour her. She could tell it was a battle that he was rapidly losing. She was losing that same battle as well.

He left her lips, moving to kiss along her jaw and throat, making his way to her left shoulder. He dipped his head, tenderly pressing his lips over the healing scar that would likely vanish in the next few days. It still didn’t erase the pain of seeing her shot or keep the nightmares that greeted him every night at by when he caused his eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” he softly murmured against her warm skin as his hands moved to firmly grip her slender waist.

Her fingers moved up from his neck to rake through his hair as he continued to kiss her, torturing her. “Bruce…it wasn’t your fault,” she somehow managed to reply to him.

He released a ragged breath as he wrestled with his control; his forehead coming to rest in the crook of her neck as his arms possessively circled her waist, drawing her in, pulling her flush against him. Close wasn’t nearly close enough now. 

“I…I’ve been having so many nightmares,” he reluctantly confessed, his voice muffled against her neck.

Her hand moved to caress the back of his neck as she bowed her head, her lips coming to rest near his ear. “I’m sorry,” she simply said, wishing she could take away his grief and the fear that she knew continually clawed away at his sanity.

“I’m terrified of losing you…had hoped that ignoring my feelings for you would protect you, but I’m so miserable without you,” he told her, finally lifting his head to meet her gaze. “I have never loved anyone as much as I love you.”

“Bruce…” she whispered, her voice trailing off as a lump formed in her throat, keeping any more words from escaping.

“I want you,” he heatedly told her, his blue eyes burning with desire. “I want you in my life, in my home, in my bed, but it’s not going to be easy. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m not exactly the easiest person to love. I’ll try to push you away and shut you out sometimes, but I’m telling you right now that no one in this world could possibly love you more than I do. I promise I’ll try my best—”

A slender finger on his lips abruptly silenced him, surprising him and keeping him from saying any more. “Bruce, I know and I love you more than my own life,” she confessed, tears shining in her eyes. “We’ll work at it together and it will be more amazing than either of us could ever begin to imagine.”

Staring deeply at her, he kissed the tip of her finger, her admission of love setting him aflame with a desire so strong he knew that trying to rein it in would be next to impossible now. He took her hand in his, a devious smirk forming on his face.

“Alfred has prepared your favorite meal for dinner tonight, but I think I need to give you a tour of the manor first instead,” he huskily informed her, leading her to the stairs that would take them up into the manor.

“Bruce, I lived here for several months when the new Watchtower was being built, remember?” she asked with a lilting laugh that only served to further inflame his hunger.

“This is a personal tour…of my bedroom,” he replied, squeezing her hand.

Diana flushed hotly inside with his insinuation, a smile of her own spreading across her face. “You know, now that you mention it, I’m not all that hungry right now,” she readily decided. “I hope Alfred won’t mind if we postpone dinner for an hour or two.”

Entering the library through the grandfather clock, Bruce turned to look at his princess, an eyebrow cocking in disbelief. “Hour or two?” he repeated. “Princess, once I have you in my bed, I don’t plan on letting you out of it until sometime next week…if ever.”

Diana giggled in response, a warm blush suffusing her cheeks. “Does Alfred make deliveries?”

“Alfred would be more than thrilled to deliver meals to your bedroom, Miss Diana,” Alfred chimed in with great pleasure from the hallway. “Heaven knows it’s about bloody time.”

“Thank you, Alfred,” Bruce loudly called over his shoulder as he swiftly led Diana up the stairs that would lead them to his bedroom.

Diana felt her face growing even hotter with Alfred’s words as she was practically dragged along by Bruce. Reaching his bedroom, she found herself being pulled inside, the door loudly banging closed behind them before being pushed up against it by a very aroused Batman.

As he began to devour her again, she couldn’t help the fleeting thought that it was because of Ra’s and Talia that she and Bruce finally decided to start a relationship. Next time she saw them, she was going to have to thank them…right before she beat them both senseless.

 

**THE END (?)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU all for your support for my fic. You're the best and I appreciate each of you that have been following me along on this. 
> 
> If you want a more in-depth look into what happened between Bruce and Diana behind closed doors, post a review and I will get a steamy addendum posted for you sometime next week.
> 
> There could possibly be a sequel to this coming out later depending on reader interest that would involve retaliation on Ra's & Talia's part on Bruce and Diana. Let me know if you're interested in a sequel and I'll add it to the line-up of upcoming fics to write.
> 
> Lastly, I'm already hard at work on the sequel to Raising Nicholas called Family Matters. I hope to start posting it in a few weeks. As soon as the murder fic is complete, I'll start posting that as well whether I'm done posting Family Matters or not. So, there could be two fics coming at the same time.
> 
> Have a Happy Easter Weekend! :)


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steamy BMWW addendum chapter to Lazaretto that expands on what happened behind closed doors in Chapter 27.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WARNING* *WARNING* *WARNING* *WARNING* *WARNING* *WARNING* *WARNING*  
> THIS CHAPTER IS "M" RATED. DO NOT READ IF YOU'RE NOT THE APPOPRIATE AGE. DON'T SAY YOU HAVEN'T BEEN WARNED.

Lazaretto: Missing Scene

Bruce felt the last thread of his self-control snap with an almost audible twang as he pushed Diana up against his bedroom door, his mouth swiftly capturing hers as she gasped in surprise at the feel of his hard body pressed so firmly against hers. 

His mind was yelling at him to slow down and take his time with her while his body was desperately demanding so much more of her. He ground his hips against her, savoring the feel of her pressed against him in all the right places and flaming his desire all the more.

He released his grip on her hair in order to run his hands over her body like he’d always dreamed of doing. He committed every single detail of her to memory, every gasp of his name and each moan that slipped breathlessly past her lips as he blazed a trail of hot kisses along her neck and collarbone.

Diana raked her fingers through his hair as she tilted her head back against the wooden door, her mouth falling open with the feel of his teeth sinking into her sensitive skin. He was driving her absolutely wild, the feel of his hard arousal pressed against her making her that much more anxious to have him inside of her where she wanted him most.

Forcing herself to focus, she began to undo the buttons of his shirt, finding it more than difficult not to just rip the material from his body. His hand slipped around behind her to find the zipper of her dress, pulling it down with a persistent tug, causing her dress to pull away from her feminine frame.

Placing his hands on either side of her waist, he slowly pulled it down her body, revealing her breasts to him. His throat went dry at the sight of her perfection, not wasting any time as his mouth hungrily descended on her. 

All form of coherent thought fled her with the feel of his hot mouth against her sensitive flesh, teasing her with teeth and tongue into a pleasurable frenzy that she prayed would never stop. “Bruce…” she hissed his name as she pushed his shirt down his arms. “I…want…you.”

Bruce groaned against her breast as he kissed her breastbone, the sound of her airy voice begging for him making him painfully hard. He crushed his lips to hers again, picking her up and wrapping her legs around his waist before carrying her to his waiting bed. Laying her down, he swiftly moved over her, starting again where he had left off—worshipping her breasts that had taunted him from the confines of her uniform for far too long.

He teased her breasts until she was continually writhing beneath him, pausing long enough to switch to the other and giving it the same focused attention. His hands roamed over her waist and hips, caressing her thighs and forcing himself to take his time with her.

“Bruce…please,” she gasped, pressing her the back of her head more fully against the pillow beneath her in desperate need of some sort of relief.

Bruce moved further up Diana’s body, thoroughly pinning her to the mattress as his heart and body took full control. He did his best to slow down, to make her feel just how much he loved her with every single kiss, every heated caress, but it was near impossible to restrain himself now that he had her where he wanted her.

There was a frantic desperation behind his kisses, heated and bruising as he began to devour her like a starving man that had been lost in a desert for far too long. He feasted on her breasts again until she was squirming again, about to go mad with a fierce need for a release.

His hand caressed her skin that was soft as velvet; memorizing her reaction to every place he touched her before his fingers finally found her hot wet center. She cried out as he slowly began stroking her, his mouth claiming hers all over again in a passionate kiss that sent fire searing straight through to her very core.

She arched her back only to grind her hips against his hand that was creating unbelievable pleasure to thrum through her entire body. “Br…Bruce,” she cried out, her fingers curling with sweet desperation into the sheet beneath her.

She tried to keep herself from coming undone just yet, but Bruce decided otherwise as he curled his fingers deep inside of her at the same time as he bit down and sucked hard on her pulse point. She suddenly came with a cry, her body boneless with the release that had exploded inside of her. 

He feathered her face with soft kisses as she began to come down from her climax, only allowing her a brief reprieve before shifting his hips and slipping inside of her. Diana cried out again, her fingers tearing at the sheets in sweet ecstasy as she arched her neck, fighting to catch her breath again.

Bruce pressed his forehead against Diana’s shoulder, fighting desperately to hang on to the last thread of control that he had left, but it was next to impossible. She felt so amazing surrounding him, so hot and tight and perfect. It was like coming home and he never wanted to leave. She had been the missing piece that he had needed in his life for so long.

“Bruce…more…please,” she breathed heavily, twisting the tattered sheets in her fists as her body bowed with pleasure, further pressing her breasts against his muscular chest.

Diana turned her head, her mouth finding his throat, kissing and nipping before abruptly flipping him over onto his back and taking control. She set a slow steady rhythm as she began to move over him, the palms of her hands resting on his chest moist with sweat as she stared down intently at him. Blue eyes locked with blue eyes, sharing an erotic intimacy that Bruce swore he had never experienced before in his life with any other woman.

She was completely mesmerizing to behold as she moved so sensually over him like a breathtaking goddess created just for him. The look of pure rapture gracing her face nearly brought him to tears. She was just so unbelievably beautiful. It was almost painful to behold as his large hands came to rest on her hips, gripping her to point of bruising as he attempted to hang on to her for dear life.

“Bruce…” she breathlessly murmured as she rocked her hips in time with his, the sound of his name on her lips along with her graceful movement driving him positively wild.

He had to kiss her again, to taste her honeyed lips. His hands slipped up into her raven hair, his chest heaving as he grasped the back of her neck. He pulled her down into a heated kiss, tongues dueling for control as she continued to move over him with a rapidly increasing cadence.

Bruce suddenly sat up, clutching her to him and rolling her over and under him without breaking the rhythm. “I love you…Diana…” he murmured over and over again as his lips skated over her throat and collarbone, his teeth raking over her skin and setting her entire body on fire all over again. “I love you…it’s always…only been you…”

He kept repeating his love for her, emphasizing it with every penetrating stroke that took him deeper and deeper inside of her. He shifted to take hold of her hands, lacing his fingers with hers before pinning them above her head. The way she was allowing him to have such control over her did not go unnoticed or unappreciated by him.

This beautiful, powerful Amazon was submitting herself to him, giving him not only the gift of her purity but also her control. It blew his mind knowing that she loved and trusted him that much to allow him to show his love for her in such an intimate way. It was something that he would never take for granted, an incredible privilege that he would never abuse. He loved and respected her too much to ever take advantage of her.

His name filled his ears like a pleading whisper, becoming a murmuring chant that turned into a sharp cry as he pushed her leg higher, bending her knee up towards her chest and allowing him to sink even further inside of her. He began hitting a spot deep inside of her that was driving her crazy, connecting them that much more fully and uniting them as one.

Diana nearly blacked out from sensory overload, gasping for the air that he was repeatedly driving from her lungs with every punishing stroke. Her toes curled as her fingernails raked like fire across his back, exciting him even further. His hot panting breath mingled with his grunts of pleasure that issued from his lips with the passion he was unleashing on her.

She came in a heated rush with a cry of his name, shuddering violently from the full force of her intense release. The feel of her inner walls clamping down around him drove him over the edge as well, releasing himself deep inside of her before collapsing on top of her. They clung to one another, sweat-slick and trembling, sharing panting breaths as they struggled to regain control once more.

Bruce turned his head, kissing her almost roughly as he fought the urge to take her again before she was fully ready, somewhat startled to find that he was already prepared for more. Diana could feel him inside of her still somewhat hard and hot and wanting even more. Her lips curled, finding herself even more in love with this man than she had ever believed possible.

Wrapping her long legs tightly around his waist, she pushed him onto his back, her mouth attacking his with a fierce vengeance as she began to move her hips again, working him up for another round. She kissed him possessively as her fingernails raked over his nipples causing him to arch beneath her with a hiss.

She greedily began kissing along his throat to his muscular chest, her teeth nipping at his skin, sensually calming the sting with her tongue and lips. She latched onto his nipple, sucking hard and lightly biting at the sensitive nub.

“Diana!” he gasped sharply, his fingers tangling in her hair and keeping her where he wanted her. 

Bruce could scarcely believe she was here making love with him, more than thrilled that she was finally his and his alone. No one would ever touch her like this except for him as long as there was still breath in his body. 

He’d been beside himself with near panic that he had lost her more than once over the last several days, Ra’s and Talia doing their best to destroy what they had found in each other, but they had survived and were stronger together for it.

“Di-ana,” he managed to choke out with a shuddering gasp as she slowed her pace to a mind-blowing crawl that kept him teetering on the brink of madness. “Don’t stop…please…never stop.”

Diana’s lips curled into a smirk as she made love to him, pleased that she was able to bring him so much pleasure. He meant absolutely everything to her and she wanted him to know that…to never forget her love for him no matter what happened in the future.

Before Diana could bring him to completion, Bruce suddenly sat up, pulling her fully into his lap and kissing her hard, careful to keep them connected. Tasting her again caused him to grow even harder as she began to rock against him, as they continued to kiss. 

Retreating for much needed air, she pressed her forehead to his as she kept a steady rhythm going that had them both reaching for release as they clung to one another. Bruce ran his hands up and down her back covered in a thin sheen of sweat, savoring every single intimate touch he shared with her as they lost each other in the moment.

The room was filled with the sounds and scent of their passionate love making as each held nothing back from the other; their hearts lay bare before one another. Diana’s head fell back as she began to move more quickly, her jaw dropping open with the passion coalescing in her core, preparing to unleash and tear through her like a bolt of lightning all over again.

Bruce’s hands gripped her waist, supporting her and keeping her sitting upright with him. “Come for me…Princess,” he huskily demanded, one hand sneaking up to find her breast and squeezing her firmly. “Show me what I do to you…how I make you feel.”

“Bruce!”

Diana suddenly came with a scream as her fingernails dug into his shoulders. She sagged bonelessly against him, burying her face in the crook of his neck as she clung to him. Her breath was like hot blasts of fire across his skin as he gripped her hips, holding her in place as he pumped into her several times before coming as well, her name being torn from somewhere deep in his chest.

Bruce fell back in his bed in sweet exhaustion, pulling her back with him. He quickly rolled to his side so they were facing each other, bodies still joined and limbs tangled together as one. He leaned in and kissed her lips slowly, savoring the euphoria and the feel of her finally in his arms where she belonged.

He gently stroked her damp hair, hooking it behind her ear as he nuzzled his nose against hers. Opening his eyes, he quickly lost himself in the azure depths gazing back at him, clouded with pleasure that he alone had created in her. 

“I love you, Princess,” he breathily whispered, soft pledges in the form of sweet kisses across her face. “I love you…more than I have ever loved anyone…in my life.”

She softly smiled at him, her fingers lightly brushing his black hair from his forehead. “I love you,” she murmured. “I was so afraid you weren’t going to let me in.”

He kissed her brow in reassurance, erasing the worry that had gathered there. “I’m sorry,” he replied. “I hated waiting to see you once we got back from Egypt, but I needed time to recover or I never would’ve been able to do what we just did. I also needed to get things in order so I could spend the entire weekend with you.”

Diana felt guilty for being angry with him when he’d left that note. She should have known. Bruce always planned everything right down to the letter. “I have to admit I was mad at you for leaving that note while I was in the shower.”

Bruce groaned with the reminder. “You have no idea how hard it was to walk away, knowing you were naked in that shower…without me,” he confessed, kissing the tip of her nose. “It took every ounce of control I had not to strip down and join you.”

“While a part of me wishes you had, this was far better than my dreams,” she said with a faint blush.

“So you have dreamed about me,” he teased with a knowing smirk, kissing across her cheekbone to her ear. His hand slipped up her smooth thigh, pulling her more firmly against his pelvis as he caressed her hip. “So what naughty things does my virtuous Princess dream about at night?”

Diana’s sinful laughter filled his bedroom, sending a shiver of desire up his spine. He immediately attacked her slender neck with his mouth, nuzzling his nose against her throat before his tongue snuck out to taste her again.

“Instead of telling you, maybe I should just show you,” she throatily replied, her blue eyes gleaming darkly with returning lust.

Bruce groaned in response, his eyes falling closed as his hand moved to the small of her back to keep her pelvis pressed firmly against him. “You had better show me every single thing you dreamed about, Princess.”

“Maybe I will,” she taunted. “Did you ever dream about me?”

“Every…single…night,” he told her, punctuating each word with a kiss as he ground his hips against hers.

Diana moaned, arching her neck and giving him even more access to her. “I’ll show you if you show me.”

“Princess, I haven’t even begun to show you the things that I’ve dreamed about doing with you,” he replied, rolling her onto her back. “You are going to ravaged over and over again for as long as I live.”

His mouth descended on hers, a passionate kiss stealing their shared breath. Retreating for air, he began to kiss down the length of her body as her fingers found the remnants of his sheets, a certain destination firmly in his mind as he firmly gripped her hips.


End file.
